


Innocence Stolen

by bec2224



Category: Lord of the Rings RPF
Genre: Angst, Kidnapping, M/M, Rape, Rape Recovery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-30
Updated: 2015-10-31
Packaged: 2018-04-29 01:02:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 15
Words: 60,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5110721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bec2224/pseuds/bec2224
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Innocence is taken, how does one get it back</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this back when we believed that Andre Schneider was proved to be a liar regarding his friendship with Orli. I do not own anything...well I have a cat, not really my cat I'm just fostering for a few months...so yeah I own nothing.

Orlando was running ten minutes late, he was supposed to have been at the bookstore by ten-fifteen am. He blamed LA traffic. Or more like the stupid layout of this town, whoever the hell designed this place, they had to have been a madman. Dead-ends and one way streets everywhere. 

He reached over and switched the radio on. Glancing in the mirror he tried to do something with the riot of curls on his head. 

'Good morning LA, this is Lisa Kimble with your late morning news. Los Angeles police told reporters today that they have no new clues that would lead to the arrest and conviction of the serial rapist, dubbed the Delivery Man. It's been four weeks since the Delivery Man last struck LA and with the police getting nowhere on this case they are warning young men in the LA area to be very cautious. This case made national headlines when, instead of women, this rapist has chosen young college age males as his victims, with more on this story…' 

Reaching down he changed the channel, finally finding something he liked he pulled into the parking lot of the bookstore, selecting a space he parked and turned off the engine. 

"Shit, Peter's gonna kill me," he pulled his jacket out of the backseat and locked the car door. Turning, he headed towards the building behind him. He had to swerve to get out of the way of a large black van that suddenly pulled up directly in front of him. It just sat there not moving. 

"Well excuse me." He mumbled to the vehicle. 

******

Four hours later… 

"Call Elijah again, see if he's heard from him yet." Peter said to Fran as he packed his knapsack up. "Did you try Orli's cell phone again?" 

Fran reached for her phone, "Yes, and there was no answer, no voice mail either. He must have turned it off." 

"These kids know they have to be here for these things, they each have so many publicity things to do. It's included in their original contracts." Peter told her as she speed dialed the number. 

Sean Austin and Viggo Mortensen entered the small room they'd all been shown to in order to get out of the chaos that was out front. 

"There's still about a hundred people out there, they just won't leave." Sean said. 

"I think all those women are still hoping the elf is going to show up. Heard from him yet?" Viggo asked Peter. 

"No, Fran's calling Lij again, we…" 

"Elijah, this is Fran. Has Orlando contacted…," she turned to Peter, "No, you haven't heard from him since he left this morning to come here. Okay. Oh, if you hear from him tell him to call PJ or I at the hotel…yes, tell him PJ is mad, really mad. Pay him back for not showing up, the little shit. Yeah, thanks. I'll talk to you later." She pressed END and shook her head at Peter, "He hasn't heard anything. He also said that Orli was definitely coming. He's positive. Dom and him had even dressed Orli this morning, wouldn't let him dress himself, not after New York -- they made sure he was dressed normally this time." 

"This isn't like Orli, he loves these things, he gets high off the rush of all those women just throwing themselves at him. I can't believe he didn't make it. Maybe he got lost." Sean said to the other three people. 

Viggo nodded his head, "I have to agree with Sean, he could have just gotten lost. He was looking forward to this, he even called me yesterday to tell me he couldn't wait to get here." 

"For four hours? Don't you think he would have called one of us for directions. I don't buy that. If he's off with a girl…or guy I'm going to kill him." Peter said. 

They all knew Orli could get diverted by a pretty face now and then, they'd watched it happen a few times in New Zealand. They also knew his preferences in dating, it didn't matter, a pretty face on a man or woman could sidetrack him for hours. Both species chased after the young man, Orlando had a way about him that attracted everyone to him. Young or old, male or female. His effervescence for life was extraordinary, he pulled you into his world and you loved being there. 

"I don't think he would let that interfere with work, hell in New Zealand he could stay up all night partying, either with all of us or the hobbits, or with someone he'd just met and still be on the set at the correct time and never once did he hold filming up. No, I don't think he's off with someone. I don't know where he is, but that isn't the answer." Viggo said, "Hell he would have just dragged them here along with him." 

"What Viggo said." Sean nodded. 

"Well where ever he is, I'm gonna make him grovel when I see him. Did you see those poor girls' faces when they told them he wasn't here? There we were, answering our questions, telling our stories and all those heads were turning towards the door every time someone walked in. It was like a tennis match in there." Peter said as he headed towards the door. 

"If either one of you hear from him tell him to call us, you have our number at the hotel right?" Fran yelled as she followed Peter out of the room. 

"Yeah, we got it." Sean told her. 

"Something's not right." Viggo said. "He would have been here. I've got a bad feeling about this." 

"What's so bad about it, Orli missed a signing, it happens from time to time in this business." 

Viggo just shook his head, "I don't know, I've just got a bad feeling, I'd explain it if I could." 

"Not jealousy is it?" Sean smiled, he knew that Viggo and Orli had an on again, off again relationship. 

"No, it's not jealousy. I understand Orli, he understands me, we don't have that kind of relationship. It's just not like him, know what I mean?" 

It took them twenty more minutes to make it out of the shop, there were still a few fans milling about inside who just had to have one more moment of their time. One more photo here, one more autograph there. Finally making it to the door they waved and headed towards their cars. 

"I'm gonna stop at Lij's before I go home. It's on the way. If I hear anything I'll let you know, alright?" Sean turned and noticed Viggo wasn't with him anymore. 

He slowly walked back towards the older man, "what?" 

"This is Orli's car," he said pointing at a dark blue Honda. It had a sticker that read 'Actors get all the best lines' stuck on the real window. 

"Are you sure?" Sean asked him, moving to look inside the car. "How can you be sure. Maybe it just looks like it." 

Viggo slowly shook his head back and forth. "Nope, it's his car. Henry bought him that sticker, I was with him when he stuck it on the window." 

Sean looked at him for a few seconds, "I'm calling Peter." 

******

Orli was cold, freezing cold. He must have knocked the covers off in his sleep, he started to reached down to find the blanket to cover himself up again. 

CLUNK! 

The noise made him come fully awake. That and the fact that his hand was slammed back down to the mattress. Only it wasn't the mattress. It was hard and cold. It felt like he was laying on metal. Opening his eyes he couldn't see anything; he looked around the room to adjust his eyes. Nothing happened, the room stayed dark. Not the kind of dark when you first open your eyes at night but the kind you find when you accidentally shut the door of the closet when you're searching for something. He moved his hand to his face but it wouldn't work. 

CLUNK! 

His hand was slammed down again. Using the fingers on his right hand he reached for his left wrist. His fingers came in contact with some type of metal bracelet attached to a chain. Following the links he found a metal ring, the chain went through the hole in the ring to another bracelet attached to his wrist. 

"What the fuck?" 

"Okay, who's the cunt who's playing games…Lij…Sblomie. Get me the hell out of these things. You think you're really funny don't you?" 

Nobody answered, not even that snorty giggly thing that Elijah did when he was trying to be sneaky. 

He still couldn't see a thing; he moved his head to the side and realized he could actually feel something move on his face. Bending over as far as he could he laid his fingers against his eyes and moved them around. A blindfold; someone had tied a blindfold made out of some type of silky material over his eyes. What the hell was going on? 

"Elijah! Dominic! You bloody assholes better get in here and take these damn things off. Do you hear me? I'm getting pissed. Fucking cunts, I'm not playing around here." 

His body was starting to hurt where it lay against the metal. It almost felt like he was burning wherever skin touched. 

He pulled his hands really hard trying to break the chains on the handcuffs. The little shits had actually used real handcuffs to play their little practical joke. Well, all right, they've had their fun now, but enough was enough. He switched to his other side and tried to sit up more. If he slid his bum as close to the metal ring as possible he could actually pull himself up into a sitting position. His bum didn't appreciate it but it relieved some of the burning cold in his side. 

"SHIT!" 

He quickly sat back up, pulling his knees up, leaning back a bit so that his nuts didn't rest on the metal. That had hurt like hell after a few seconds. Cold, metal, testicles, not a good combination. 

"Elijah Fucking Wood you better get these damn things off me now. YOU HEAR ME!" This wasn't bloody funny anymore. 

Silence. No, not total silence. Orli sat still and listened for a few seconds. There was some kind of clicking and whirling noise. He didn't know what it was but he could hear it if he listened closely. 

"Hello? Anybody there." 

How the hell did they do this? How did they get him from his bed to wherever the hell this was without waking him up? He didn't even remember drinking last night. He, Dom, and Lij had sat up and watched a movie last night; a comedy, Rat Race, they'd enjoyed it. Then they'd talked to Billy on that damn computer. He'd just shouted whatever he wanted to say to Billy to either one of the other two and they would type it and yell Billy's answers back to him. They'd talked about meeting in London in two months, the four of them, and spending some time together, then he'd went to bed. He'd had that signing to do in the morn… 

It all came back to him in a flash, Dom and Lij making fun of his clothes, dressing him, the signing, rushing to get there, parking his car, walking across the parking lot, the van… 

He remembered the door suddenly being thrown open and the man lunging at him. The man did something; he couldn't remember…no, he had something in his hand. What was it? 

"Shit, shit, shit, fuck, shit! This is not happening. This isn't real, it' s a joke, yeah, it has to be a joke those fuckers thought up." 

But a part of him knew it was real. Tiny tremors started in his chest and moved out to various parts of his body. The shaking wasn't from the cold. It was fear. Fear so strong he could practically taste it. 

Thoughts swam through is head. People like him didn't get kidnapped. Russell Crowe got kidnapped, Madonna got kidnapped, not schmucks who make one or two movies and don't even get recognized on the street. Not him. 

What the hell would kidnappers want with him? He wasn't rich. He didn't have a huge career, hardly any one knew who the hell he was. 

And why was he naked? Why had they taken his clothes? 

His body jumped when a noise broke the silence. It sounded like a heavy door was opened. 

He suddenly sat straight up and moved his head towards the sound, "hello?" 

Footsteps – they stopped directly in front of him. 

"You have been delivered unto me." 

A mans voice, deep, almost echoing in the room. 

"Where am I?" 

"You have been delivered unto me." 

"W..w..why, for what?" 

"You have been delivered unto me." 

Oh My God! A maniac, a crazy person. A fucking lunatic had kidnapped him. 

"W..w..what's going on, w..w..why have you brought m..m..me here?"   
"You have been delivered unto me." 

"O…kay." He tried again, "Where am I?" 

"You have been del…" 

"Yeah, I get that part. But why, what are you going to do to me." The constant repeating of the same sentence over and over again was starting to piss him off. And he'd rather deal with anger than fear right now. 

"Where the hell am I? Give me a fucking answer, do you hear me. Because if this is about money you have totally mucked it up. I don't have a lot of money. You've totally screwed yourself." 

"You have been delivered unto me." 

He heard something slide across the floor, then a weird squeaking noise. Water suddenly cascaded down over his body. A fine spray of warm water. Orli lowered his head to keep it off his face. As soon as the water hit him his muscles locked up, he tried to make himself relax. 

"What the hell are you doing?" 

"You have been delivered unto me." 

A hand was suddenly pressed against his back, Orli turned to try and get away from the hand. There was something in the hand, something soft and wet. A washcloth? The hand came again; he could smell the soap this time, the rag was run up and down his back and then down his arm, up again and over his shoulder. The handcuffs kept him from moving away. 

The idiot was washing him. What the hell was he doing? 

He didn't have time to even try to pull away when the rag was drawn down over his cock, but it was gone as quickly as it came. Down his leg, back up and down the other leg. Hell, he even washed between Orli's toes. He felt hands come around his hips and pull him up. The hand was plunged between his ass cheeks.   
"HEY! Get the hell away from me." Orli snarled at the unseen man. 

"You have been delivered unto me." 

The hand left him, he fell to his knees, and the hands came again, pulling his legs out in front of him again. Something was dumped on his head; two hands were thrust through his hair and moved in circles over his scalp. After a few vigorous rubs the water was turned on again and he just sat there as the shampoo and soap was rinsed from his body. 

He heard a small sound, he didn't have time to figure out what it was before the hands were back and rubbing again, without the rag this time. Another smell over powered the soap. Some type of lotion was smoothed all over his body. From head to toe the hands moved, nothing was left un-moisturized. Between his legs and ass again, then it stopped. 

Something was shoved between his lips, water ran over his tongue and down his throat. Orli realized how thirsty he was as he quickly sucked down the refreshing liquid. 

The man moved away, but he was back in an instant shoving something into Orli's mouth again. Bread this time, with butter and something else, something sweet. Honey, the bread had honey on it. Orli chewed and swallowed and the process was repeated three more times. More water, bread, water again. 

When he was finally finished chewing and drinking the man moved behind him and leaned over his shoulders Orli felt his arm reach down in front of him and grab his cock. Instinct had him pushing back against the man but before he could actually move something was sat between Orli's legs, he held Orli's cock over the rim of a bowl or bucket of some kind. 

"What the hell are you doing?" Orli questioned him, and then it struck him, the guy was naked. That was bare skin he felt pressed against his back. It also entered his mind what the bastard wanted him to do. He was supposed to piss in the bucket. "Yeah, like this is going to work." 

"You have been delivered until me." 

Okay, this was starting to make him angry again. Orli closed his eyes under the blindfold and tried to not to think about what was going on. It didn't work 

The man stretched his body to the side and the same squeaking noise that he' d heard before the water struck him sounded in the quiet room. The water came on but it didn't touch him this time. The man just stood and held the hose in one hand and Orli's cock in the other. The water splashed against the floor, like the sound of a shower running. 

"You really think this is going to work…" Orli started to say, when to his amazement he suddenly had the urge to pee. He urinated into the bucket; the man reached up and turned the water off and removed the container.   
"You have been… 

"Delivered unto me. Yeah I got that part down." If the man only had the one line Orli was tired of hearing it. He realized that he wasn't going to be getting an explanation anytime soon. 

The hands grabbed his hips again and he was pulled to his knees. One hand left his hip and moved down to his ass cheek, pulling it to the side something hard was thrust against his anus. He lunged forward trying to break the contact. He was pulled back up to his knees again, he pushed his legs out flat and ended up on his stomach, the ring of metal that held his handcuffs stabbing into his chest. He barely noticed the cold wet metal underneath him. He couldn't get any leverage with his hands; they were stuck beneath him. Hands on his bum again, his cheeks were pulled roughly apart and the man tried to enter him again. Orli tried to kick with his legs but they had been pushed to the side and he couldn't connect with anything. The hard cock penetrated the tight ring. 

The man shoved into him hard. 

Orli screamed. 

Orli must have blacked out for a moment, when his head cleared he felt the man pumping into him. He couldn't stop the whimpers of pain from escaping his throat. 

"Delivered unto me!" "Delivered unto me!" "Delivered unto me!" "Delivered unto me!" 

The man kept shouting it over and over again. He got louder with every thrust. 

"Delivered unto me!" "Delivered unto me!" "Delivered unto me!" 

"DELIVERED…UNTO…ME!" 

Finally, it was over. 

Orli moaned as the man withdrew, he heard him walking around the room moving things around or collecting things. Orli didn't know and he didn't fucking care. And then the door was opened again and then silence. 

"Fuck you," Orli said into the silence. Pulling his legs up, he curled up into a fetal position; the material of the blindfold caught his tears as they fell. But there was nothing to catch the sobs that came from his mouth.


	2. Chapter 2

"What the hell do you mean you can't do anything for twenty-four hours?" Sean was yelling. His companions in the room weren't as shocked as they thought they would be. Sean never yelled. He always remained cool and calm. But this was different. Someone they cared about could be in trouble and the police just didn't seem to care. 

The young officer who'd answered their phone call didn't seem to have much experience handling a bunch of irate people. All he kept saying was that he really couldn't help them. Plus the fact that it took hours for him to arrive wasn't helping his case either. 

"Well, you see…ah…we have to wait twenty-four hours. It's the law. Your friend, what was his name?" He looked down at the pad in his hand. 

"Orlando, Orlando Bloom." Viggo thundered. His face matched his tone. Hell, this little punk couldn't even remember Orli's name after everyone in the room had practically screamed it at him more than a few times when he'd first asked for the name of the missing person. 

The mistake on the young officers part was looking at Viggo when he answered him. "Ah…yes, Mr. Bloom, Orlando…right?" He stared at Viggo for a few more seconds then back at the pad again, the fingers holding the pad had begun to shake. "He, well he could just be off with a friend or maybe he had a few too many drinks last night, sometime that happens…you know." 

"He was here last night. We had nothing to drink but Pepsi. He left this morning." Elijah was getting pissed. He looked at Dom and rolled his eyes. "And we are his friends, he doesn't know anyone else in LA. He just moved here from England."

"And his car is in the parking lot of the bookstore were he was supposed to meet us today. Doesn't that tell you something." Sean questioned. "Doesn' t that tell you that something could have happened to him." 

"Well, ah…maybe he met a girl. He might just be with her. You…ah…you said he's an actor right, believe me, here in Los Angeles we deal with this sort of thing all the time. All the time. We just have to give it some time. Most missing persons show up within the first twenty-four hours." He flipped the top closed on the pad and held a card out for Peter to take. "Like I said, if he doesn't show up in…twenty-four hours give this number a call and they can help. But I'm afraid until then there's really nothing much we can do." 

Fran walked the officer to the door and let him out. Even thought this was Elijah's place she didn't think the young boy would want to do it. "Thank you Officer Mitchell." 

"Don't thank him, he's an idiot." Dom said. "What the hell kind of country is this. The guy's car is abandoned in the lot and they think he went off with a girl." 

Dropping his head Peter closed his eyes, that's exactly what he had thought a few hours ago. 

"What was the time when you last saw him Lij?" Peter asked the young boy. 

"It was nine-forty this morning. We kept yelling at him that he was going to be late if he didn't hurry. He left at nine-forty." 

"Okay, it's five-twenty. That means Orli could be out there in trouble and we can't do anything for a shit load of time yet." Sean said. He moved to the sofa and let himself collapse into the cushions. 

Lij turned to Peter, "what are we going to do?" 

Peter looked into the boy's deep blue eyes. "We're going to stay calm Elijah. And Sean we are not going down that road. We're all just going to wait here and hope he calls. And we're going to sit down and think. Has Orli met anyone in LA that you know of someone that he could be visiting, dating, someone that he might be with?" 

Elijah looked at Dominic. "No, just a few people at some clubs, but it wasn 't like he made any new best friends or anything, right Dom?" 

Dom nodded, "no, not even anyone that he had exchanged numbers or addresses with, not anyone that I know of." 

"He's only been back from London for a few weeks Peter. He's been either here with the boys or out at my house." Viggo told the other man. "I know they all went to a few clubs, but he said they didn't stay long at any of them." 

Dom backed up Viggo. "No, we didn't. And the few people we did meet were mostly fans. Orli wouldn't go off with any of them." 

Peter looked at his wife, she knew that look. In the last three years he'd become very close to the these actors. Especially the younger ones. She knew he was hurting, but as always he was the boss. He had to stay calm and be the one who keeps his cool. 

She glanced around the room at the tension filled faces and knew that all these men were hurting. The younger men because there best friend was missing and the fact that there was nothing they could do was breaking their hearts. 

And Viggo…well the relationship between Orli and Viggo was something else entirely. She watched as the older man moved to the window. Everyone in their small circle had known that Viggo and Orli had been lovers in New Zealand. No one knew what had happened between them when they had left because they had never openly talked about what would happen when filming had finished. They'd left separately and she knew they were still close friends. 

"I'm going to make some coffee, anyone want anything?" Fran said as she moved to the kitchen. "Elijah come help me find stuff." 

Fran entered the small kitchenette, Elijah right behind her. He picked up a small bowl and sat it down in front of the coffee maker. 

"Here's the sugar, the coffee's there by the coffee maker…milks in the fridge, I'll get it for you." 

"No, wait till the coffee is ready." She walked over and started to prepare the coffee. 

Lij didn't know what to do with himself so he just stood and watched the small television that was on the counter, a finger automatically finding it' s way into his small mouth. Elijah was a chronic nail biter, if you could call what he had actual nails. He'd chewed them down to the bone practically. A local news show had just come on. The sound of the anchor could be heard over the voices of the men in the other room. 

'City Hall has been answering complaints all day from worried citizens who want to know why police have had no new leads in the case. Police Chief Bernard Parks said that they have their best men on the job and that they are working on every possible lead that comes across their desk. He said that they should have more for us later this week. So far six young men have been victimized by the man the newspapers have nicknamed the Delivery Man for the phrase that the man constantly repeats over and over...' 

"Fran," Elijah pulled his finger from his mouth, taking his eyes off the TV he glanced at Fran. "You don't think…"   
"What Lij," she turned to stare at the boy. 

"You don't think Orli was taken by that guy on TV do you?" 

"What guy?" 

"The one they call the Delivery Man, the rapist. He's been taking young guys here in LA for months now. You don't think he could have…" Lij shook his head, he couldn't finish. "No, it's not…" 

Fran turned back to the TV, the reporter had moved onto the next story. "What are you talking about Elijah." 

"There was this guy, he's been snatching guys in their late teens or early twenties off the streets of Los Angeles he keeps them prisoner and he…he took six guys the TV said. You don't think he could have taken Orli do you?" 

Fran grabbed the kid and moved into the living room, "tell PJ, tell them what you just told me." 

"What? Did you remember something Elijah?" Viggo asked. 

"No, but…" Lij started to tell them about the TV report. He didn't get to finish because Fran interrupted him. 

"He said there's a serial rapist in LA. He takes young men. PJ you don't think that Orli could have been taken by him do you?" 

"Where's that card Peter, I'm calling that number." Viggo held his hand out for the card. Peter handed it to him and he moved to the phone. 

*******

Orlando turned over onto his side again, he could feel the cold creeping into this side already. He'd lost count of the amount of times he'd tried to get comfortable on this cold slab. His hip bones hurt so badly they felt like they were on fire. His wrist were starting to hurt also where the handcuffs were rubbing his skin raw. Not to mention the pain in his backside. 

No, he refused to even think about that. 

He didn't know how much time had passed, with no light he had no idea if it was day or night. Hell, it could have been a day or more since he'd been brought here, he just didn't know. 

The man had come back twice since the first time. Each time was the same, the washing, the feeding, the use of the bucket and then the rape again. The same exact way every time, nothing changed. And he kept repeating the same fucking sentence every time Orli had opened his mouth. So Orli stopped trying to talk to him, stopped trying to get any kind of answers out of the bastard. But that didn't stop the asshole from repeating it during the rape, every time he entered Orli's body he would yell out the same inane words. 

No, one thing had been different, while the man had been washing him the third time he'd stopped and moved away. Silence filled the room for a few moments, Orli noticed that the whirling and clicking noise had stopped. A shifting sound followed by more clicking and then another sound that Orli thought sounded familiar, but he couldn't think of what it could be. And then a snapping noise, like something being closed. A video, that's what it sounded like, when you slide a tape into a VCR. The man was playing some kind of tape or something Orli thought to himself. 

Other than that nothing had changed. Well the fact that he'd run out of tears hours ago. He just didn't have the energy to cry anymore. He just wanted to go home. He wanted to see the guys again, wanted to be safe in Lij's small little guest house. 

But most of all, he wanted Viggo. 

Just thinking about the older man made Orli want to cry again. Viggo would know what to do, he would keep him safe. And he'd kick that bastards ass. He loved Viggo, but he'd never tell him that. Oh no, Viggo had never said anything about them being permanent, so Orli hadn't pushed it. His heart had broken when they'd left New Zealand and Viggo hadn't mentioned anything about the two of them having a future together. So Orli had kept his mouth shut and just let it go. He didn't want to push the older man away, he'd take the time that Viggo gave him and it would be enough he told himself. He'd been so happy when he'd arrived in Los Angeles and they'd taken up where they'd left off. They'd get together when he or Viggo was in town, dinner at Viggo's, nights spent playing board games with Henry in Viggo's living room. He remembered the time that the three of them, Viggo, Henry and himself had dragged Lij and Dom out to the various car dealers and everyone had helped him buy his new car. Viggo had had to teach him how to drive on the right side of the road, well -- the wrong side as far as Orli was concerned. And the nights spent in Viggo's bed. That's what he would think about now, those times. Viggo's hands touching him, his lips running up and down his body. How it felt having Viggo inside of him, or being inside of Viggo. 

His happy thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of the door opening again. 

"Nnnooo." Orli whimpered into the darkness. 

*******

"What's he saying?" Lij whispered to Dom. They'd been shooed out of the room when the cops had arrived the second time. Peter, Fran, Viggo and Sean were talking to the two new detectives in the living room. Neither Lij nor Dom had been very receptive when they had first walked through the door. Downright childish even at times, but neither one of them could help it, they were so freaking worried about Orlando. The cops, detectives this time, a man and a woman, had asked them both to wait in the other room. It had been over an hour since they'd been stuck in here. 

"He said Orli fits the profile. His age, his good looks, all of it. But they said he had never taken anyone famous before. The woman said it's possible the guy didn't recognize him." Dom informed him he leaned back against the wall trying to hear without being seen. "They're going to take Orli's car and dust it for fingerprints. God this feels like a goddamn television show. I can't believe this is happening." 

"Jesus, it's like midnight, Orli's been gone a long time." Lij said. He dropped his head into his hands and rubbed his eyes hard, he rubbed until he saw bright flashes of light behind the closed lids. He was so scared. The same phrase kept repeating in his head over and over again. This just wasn' t happening, wasn't happening. Couldn't be happening. 

When the phone rang instinct had Lij reaching over to answer it before he could remember that the cops had told him to let Peter or Viggo answer it. He quickly snatched it off the base, "hello?" 

"Billy!" He cupped his hand over the phone and yelled into the other room, "it's Billy again." 

"Lij, don't stay on too long. Okay." Viggo yelled back at him." 

"I won't." Lij turned back to the phone. 

Dom kept one ear glued to the edge of the wall, the other on Lij. He knew Lij would want to know about anything he missed while on the phone. It was hard trying to follow both conversations at the same time. They'd called Billy earlier and told him what was going on. He told them he'd call them back with his flight information. When Dom had told him it wasn't necessary to come, that maybe they should wait and see Billy had calmly told him he couldn't wait. He had to be there with them. 

"No, we haven't heard anything yet. Yeah, their here now. I'm not supposed to stay on the phone long." Elijah was saying. "Okay, yeah I'll be there, eleven-thirty-five. Continental, Flight 719." 

He walked to the counter and picked up a pen, he wrote the information on an old club flyer that was stuck to the refrigerator. He threw the pen back down on the counter, he turned and laid his forehead against the refrigerator. "Yeah, they said he fit the profile...that he could have been taken." 

"We love you too Billy, see ya soon." Lij hung up the phone, still leaning against the fridge he spun around. "Billy will be here tomorrow night." 

Dom moved over to the younger boy. He slipped his arms around his slender shoulders pulling him up against his body. "I'll go with you to get him. Orli will probably be back by then and we can kick his ass for worrying us like this. It's going to be okay Lij." 

*******

Viggo stood and watched the two boys. He wanted to go to them and tell them that Dominic was right and everything was going to be okay. But he didn't think he could lie with a straight face right now. Turning away from them he headed down the hall to the bathroom, but he knew he wasn't going to make it. Slipping through the first door he came too he silently shut the door behind him. A bedroom, Elijah's from the look of it. There were clothes everywhere, the place was a mess. He leaned back against the door, running his hands through his long hair he closed his eyes. He let the tears finally fall. He'd been holding them in now for almost an hour, he couldn't do it any longer. 

"Where the hell are you Orlando…" He whispered to the room. 

Three days, that's the longest that this creep, this asshole held his victims. He couldn't do this for two more days. He couldn't take not knowing. Orlando could possibly be held prisoner by some maniac who was dubbed the Delivery Man because of the single sentence he kept repeating to his victims. /You have been delivered unto me/ What the hell was that supposed to mean. He suddenly wanted to hit something, no not something, someone. That faceless, nameless monster that possibly had Orli. 

Or maybe that cop, what was his name, Detective Oliver. The man had actually said to keep in mind that all of the victims were released unharmed after either a few hours or a few days. Unharmed. The bastard had raped them, how the hell did he call that unharmed. 

He couldn't stand the thought of Orli, his Orli being hurt like that. Orli was so alive, so packed with life. The son-of-a-bitch had kept them chained. Chained. Hell, Orlando Bloom couldn't sit still for five minutes let alone stand being chained up for days. 

He thought back to those first days when he had met Orli. His first impression had been that he was nothing but a pretty faced punk kid, jumping all around, always laughing and joking with everyone. He was all over the place at one time, drinking with the hobbits, hitting on girls or guys in the pubs they visited. And the bungee shit, Christ, just two years before the kid had broken his fucking back and here he was jumping out of airplanes and cable cars.   
But, the first time they'd done a scene together, the first time he witnessed Orli infront of the camer Viggo had been amazed at the transformation of Orlando Bloom into Legolas Greenleaf, Prince of Mirkwood. It had been a complete transformation, a wondrous transformation. He'd stand silently for hours as the film rolled. Even in between shots he was still and quiet. Quietly reciting the few lines that he had in the film. But as soon as Peter wrapped for the day Orlando Bloom came out of hiding and was there before you in bright beautiful Technicolor. Viggo had been truly amazed by Orli's acting ability. He'd known then that Orli was one of the truly gifted actors, not like him, not a method actor that needed to get into and stay into character for weeks. 

And then he'd gotten to know him personally, it had surprised the hell out of him when he caught himself following Orli with his eyes every time he came into contact with him. Shocked him even more when the dreams had begun, dreams of him and Orli. In bed. Hot dreams, the kind that would wake you up in the middle of the night and only let you get back to sleep if you took care of the raging hard-on he had first. And he'd done a hell of a lot of that for quite awhile. And it had gradually gotten worse when he couldn't forget the dreams when his fantasy lover was constantly in his face. He told himself it would be fine if he just ignored it. 

But he didn't do such a great job of ignoring it. He knew he didn't because Sean Bean, another actor on the film and his housemate finally sat him down and told him straight out, either ask Orli out or get another roommate cause he was tired of waking up at night to the sound of Orli's name being screamed out loud. That statement had made him feel like he was some snot nosed teenager. He'd tried to laugh it off at first, but Sean wasn't buying it. So one night when he'd gotten enough alcohol down his gullet he'd did just that. And been left totally speechless when Orli had agreed to go out with him. He'd been expecting the younger man to laugh at him, call him a pervert and run off and tell all the hobbits about the old child molester they were working with. 

And then his life had begun. He loved the times he spent with Orli, he loved being with him, fishing, hiking, watching him jump out of perfectly fine airplanes and off rocks with nothing but rubber bands strapped to his ankles. He still couldn't believe he'd let the kid talk him into surfing. But the best times were when he just sat and talked with him, hell sometimes they didn't even talk. Just sat and watched the stars or the ocean. And the lovemaking. Mind blowing were the words that came to mind. He'd been with other men before, but it wasn't the same. Those past relationships were kid stuff compared to what he felt when he was with Orli. Orli was the first man he'd ever let inside of him, both mentally and physically. He'd always been the one in control, but hell with Orli he had no control. That' s when he knew he was in love. 

For all the good it did him. He couldn't even say it too him. Orli was too young to want to be saddled with a forty-two year old father of a fifteen. Hell, he was closer to Henry's age than he was too Viggo's. 

Viggo smiled into the empty room, Henry loved Orli. Orli was the first man that he'd dated to actually introduce to Henry. All the other relationship had been kept from his sons eyes. He hadn't wanted to introduce any of those men to Henry. But one day he just found himself on the phone telling Henry all about Orli. And when Henry had finally come to New Zealand that first summer Orli had been the first person Viggo had introduced him too. After dinner one night Viggo had dropped Orli off at his place and Henry had turned to him and said straight out without pulling any punches. "You love him don't you dad?" 

And Viggo had said yes without even thinking about it. Henry had just smiled and said, "I knew it. I like him, he's fun. And he makes you laugh." 

Even then he'd been afraid to push it, he never brought up his feelings to Orli. He just accepted anything Orli gave him and told himself he was lucky to have those moments. 

At this moment he wished Orli was here, wished he was right in front of him and he'd say it, out loud. 

"I love you Orli. I love you."


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey Sam, it's Mike Mitchell here, you still offering money for information on the Delivery Man?" Officer Mike Mitchell knew he could get fired for what he was about to do, but he had two kids to feed and he knew other cops did it, so why should he be left out? 

"Well, I've got some information for you, but it's going to cost you. And before you say anything just let me tell you, I know what you paid the other guys. And since this is pretty big I think I deserve more than what they got. What do you say?" 

"Okay, that sounds good, listen up. They think he's struck again, they have another suspected victim. But it's just not some drunken fraternity kid from UCLA this time. It's an actor. Supposedly somebody famous. One of those kids in that new movie, The Lord of the Rings. No, not that one, not the American, this one's British. Played the elf I think." 

"Yeah, that's the name, Orlando Bloom. He disappeared three days ago; they put him on the missing persons list yesterday morning. They've dusted his car and found nothing." 

"Nope, that's all I have for you. But I can give you the address where all the other actors are and that guy who directed the movie, what's his name? Yeah, Peter Jackson. Well they're all holed up in a bungalow on 927 Canyon Road. It's behind a white sandstone, out by the pool. They're the ones who put in the MP on him." 

"Yeah there were quite a few of them there too, wait a minute let me get my notes." 

"Viggo Mortensen, Sean Austin, Dominic Monaghan, and the kid who you mentioned before, Elijah Wood, yeah he owns the place. It's his house. I'm not sure if they're all still there, but that's where they told me I could reach them." 

"The phone number? Yeah hold on, 555-1987." 

"No, I'm not on the case anymore, Harry Oliver and Cyn Matthews are assigned to it. Harry thinks the kid is drunk somewhere but Matthews you know her, she thinks he's been taken by our guy." 

"So what do you say, how much is this worth to you?" 

Mike Mitchell smiled into the phone, "Yeah, that sounds real good. Where do you want me to meet you?" 

He took down the information, said goodbye, and hung up the phone. 

He was making a nice little pay-off on this, better than any of the other guys. The guy was an actor, he was used to publicity, it didn't matter if the newspapers and television reporters got his name. And he was probably a faggot anyway. The Delivery Man wasn't doing anything to him that he hadn't done before. 

*******

Viggo snatched up the phone before it even finished ringing, "Yeah?" 

Everyone had stopped what they were doing as soon as the phone had rung. They all stood and waited. 

Fran had started breakfast and Christine, Sean's wife, had arrived soon after. The two women had started piling food onto plates, making sure that everyone had enough. Elijah's mother had made a quick run to the store early this morning so the place was well stocked with groceries. 

Billy, Dom, Elijah, and Peter all sat at the table. Sean stood next to Chris helping her serve. Viggo had been the closest to the phone, but it wouldn't have mattered where he had been, they'd decided yesterday that he was the only one to answer any incoming calls. 

It was the third morning since Orli had disappeared. They had heard nothing since Detective Matthews had arrived late last night to tell them that no strange fingerprints had been found on Orli's Honda. All of them except for Peter, Fran, Christine, and Billy had gone to the Police Station yesterday and had their fingerprints taken so that their prints could be eliminated. Even Elijah's mother and sister, Hannah had had theirs taken since they had both been around Orli's car. 

"What? Who the fuck is this?" Viggo listened for about four seconds and slammed the phone down. 

"What was that about?" Sean asked. He watched as Viggo's hands curled up into fist. 

"They know. Access Hollywood wanted to know if the rumors were true about Orlando." Viggo told them, the sarcasm clearly heard in his tone. 

Peter couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What? How did they find out." 

"I don't know. I don't fucking know." Viggo said as he turned and slammed his hand into the wall. The plaster gave way and his knuckles slammed into the insulation. "I don't fucking believe this." 

"Peter you know there's no such thing as a secret in Hollywood. Any minute now that phone is going to be ringing off the hook. If they got the number others can get it too. " Chris told them. She soothingly ran her hand over Sean's back. 

The phone rang again, Viggo snatched it up, "Who is this?" 

The others watched as his face relaxed, "No, Ian we haven't heard anything. Yeah, Beanie called last night, he's stuck there filming, but he said as soon as he can he'll be here." 

"The papers found out his name Ian, they know what's going on." 

Hannah came running through the front door. "Lij, mom told me to tell you there's a bunch of reporters out front, they've got the street blocked with all their trucks and stuff." 

"Bloody hell, now what are we going to do?" Dom said. 

"Mom told them if they put one foot on her property she's gonna have them arrested." Hannah smiled as she said this. "She wants the name of that lady cop, the one that was here last night." 

Elijah wrote it down and handed it to his sister, she turned and went back out through the front door. 

Viggo hung up the phone, it rang before he even took his hand off of it. He looked at everyone in the room. 

Peter nodded, "Answer it, it could be the police." 

Viggo pulled the phone to his ear. "Hello." 

"No, I'm sorry you must have the wrong number, no he's not here either. Sorry." He slammed the phone down again. "Another reporter. They know this is Elijah's place." 

"We can't leave and we can't turn the phones off either, Orli only has this number. He'd call here, what are we going to do?" Lij asked, turning to Peter. 

"We sit tight and just ignore them. They'll get tired after awhile, go search someplace else for their story." Peter put his arm around the boy and pulled him close. "We just have to stay calm Lij." 

Fran pulled a small brush and dustpan out from under the sink and moved across the room, she had to weave her way around all the people clustered there. Viggo took the items from her and started to clean up his mess. 

"You okay Vig?" Sean asked him. "You need any help." 

"I got it…thanks." 

"I'm sorry about your wall Elijah, tell your mom I'll pay for it." Viggo said as he opened the trashcan and let the particles of wall slide down into the pail. 

"Don't worry about it. You just did what we all want to do." The boy told him. "You can break every damn wall in this place if you want to. I think we're all ready to join you." 

"I'm just sick and tired of all this waiting. I can't hit that bastard, so I hit the wall instead. It's a trick I learned from my father I guess." Viggo explained. 

"Orli would just say that it's the human coming out in you." Billy told him. 

Viggo smiled, "Yeah, he would wouldn't he." 

The phone rang again. Viggo answered it and played the wrong number scenario again. 

They all went back to the only thing they could do; wait. 

*******

Orlando turned his head away from the bread. He knew if he took one bite he 'd puke it all back up anyway. A hand gripped his scalp and yanked his head back. Fingers were thrust into his mouth and the bread was shoveled in. He tried snapping his teeth on the fingers but the bastard moved too quickly. 

He spit the bread out at his feet. 

"I'm not hungry okay, just do…get it done and get the fuck away from me." 

"You have been delivered unto me." 

"Well fuck you, you hear me, fuck you. I'm tired of your fucking sick games. Just leave me the hell alone." 

"You have been delivered unto…" 

"You just don't get it do you? I don't fucking care what your sick little mind is telling you, nobody delivered me to you, you just took me. I don't want to be here, I don't want you putting your bloody fucking hands on me anymore." 

"You have been delivered unto me." 

Orlando had had enough. He threw himself in the general direction of the guy's voice, thrusting his shoulders into the legs he hoped were in front of him. He hit something solid and he heard a loud thud as the guy hit the floor. 

"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME, DO YOU HEAR ME? JUST STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!! 

He sat and listened. All he could hear was his own breathing echoing around the room. And that damn whirling and clicking. 

"I'm done do you hear me, I'm not taking your shit anymore so just go fuck yourself." 

He heard a shuffling noise and something slammed against the side of his head, his body went down. The man was on him in flash. He pushed with all his might to try and knock him off but it wasn't enough, he was shoved back down to the ground and he felt the man's cock pushing against his ass. The pain was horrific, he screamed, he heard the same words rushing out of the mouth of the man on top of him. 

He couldn't fight back with his body so he used the only thing he had. His voice. 

"Go fuck yourself. You and your little dick you asshole. Fuck you, you hear me?" 

He kept screaming, he finally realized that the sound coming out of his mouth was raspy and barely loud enough for the bastard to even hear. The thrusting finally stopped and the man moved away again. Orlando let his body go slack and he waited to hear the door. He just wanted to be alone, he just wanted him to go away again. 

The door didn't open. He suddenly felt something thrust against his face, it was the same stuff that the guy had covered his face with the day that he 'd first took him. His last thought before he blacked out was maybe it was finally over, maybe the guy was done with him now, maybe, just maybe, he was killing him. 

*******

He woke up slowly; he was leaning against a wall or something solid. The second thing he noticed were his hands. They were snuggled up against his chest and the handcuffs were gone. He looked up, there was a bright street lamp off to his right, it hurt to look at it, moving his arm up he shaded his eyes but kept them on the light. It was the first light he'd seen since he was taken. He moved his hands to the wall and pushed himself up, at least he tried to, halfway up his legs gave out on him and he fell back down. He tried again and fell again. There was no fucking way he was going to stay here, he could hear noises, cars and people, and he had to get to them, now. 

He crawled along the edge of the wall, it looked like some kind of alley, and he could see parked cars and garbage cans. A large green dumpster was off to his left. He followed the wall until he could see a sidewalk ahead of him; he pushed himself further along the wall until he finally reached the corner of the building. There was some type of metal frame running up the side, the kind they used for those grates they used for locking up the front of buildings with. He pulled himself up the frame until he was standing. Directly in front of him was a large window, looking through it he realized it was some type of restaurant. He could see people inside. Using the edge of the window he moved towards the door, two glass doors were propped open for easier access. Orlando stumbled through the doors and slammed his hip into a small table. 

A young woman looked up from behind the counter. Taking small steps he moved towards it and asked if he could use her phone. 

"We're really not supposed to let people use it, but since the boss isn't here, go ahead." She smiled and placed the phone up on top of the counter. 

Orlando thanked her and picked up the phone, he stared at the digits and tried to remember Lij's numbers. He started pressing buttons. 

"Please be there, please." He mumbled to himself. Resting his elbows on the counter he pulled his chin to his chest and wrapped his empty hand over the top of his head. 

The other end was finally answered. He heard the voice on the other end. "Viggo." 

"I don't know, I'm downtown I think. I don't know. Yes, please come and get me, I need you Viggo." 

He turned to the girl again and asked her for the address of the place, when she answered he thanked her again. 

"Tony's. It's called Tony's, it's a pizza restaurant." He started to cry. "5346 Melrose Avenue. Tony's. Please Viggo, I want to come home." 

"Okay." He hung up the phone. 

The girl replaced it back down on the lower counter. She smiled at him again. 

"He's coming to get me." Orlando said. "He's going to take me home." 

The girl laughed, "Are you stoned?" 

"No, I don't think so." Orlando said. He turned and stood at the door. Viggo was coming. 

*******

The reporters were finally gone, Detective Matthews was there and she had finally gotten them to leave. 

The house was quiet. Christine had left a few hours ago, she wanted to be with Alex she'd told her husband. 

The Hobbits were bedded down in Lij's room and Fran had taken the other bedroom. Detective Matthews, Peter, and Viggo sat in the living room not talking, just sitting quietly. The woman had said she would wait around a few more hours because she had nothing better to do. It was coming up on the fourth day. The Delivery Man had never kept any of his victims this long. Orlando Bloom just wasn't some faceless person whom this creep had taken off the street, once the networks had gotten a hold of the story his face was plastered on every newspaper and ever television set across the US, Canada, and Britain. She was starting to worry. 

The phone had been ringing off the hook. Every time it rang Viggo would simply tell whomever it was that they'd gotten the wrong number. Barrie Osborne had called earlier, he'd told Peter about the horrible row that he and Bob Shaye had gotten into earlier, figured he'd be fired by morning, wanted to know if he could get a job with Peter if that happened. When Peter had asked what they'd fought about Barrie had told him that Bob had made the statement that Orli couldn't have picked a better time to get kidnapped, it was like getting free publicity with all the news and gossip shows carrying the story. Barrie hadn't taken it too well and he'd ended up hitting the other man. Peter told him he had a job with him anytime. 

Ian had called again, he had called Orli's family, he was with them now. Mrs. Bloom was a wreck he'd told them, but Orli's sister was taking care of her. The British tabloids were even worse than their American counterparts. The police had already arrested a few of them for their over zealous pursuit of the story. He also said that he'd received a lot of calls from other cast members and some of the crew. They'd all wanted to know if there was anything they could do. Pray is what Ian had told them. 

They had tried watching the television earlier, but after seeing a few shows with Orli's picture, plus a few of their own stamped across the screen, they had given up on that idea. They were all starting to breakdown; they couldn 't handle the tension, the waiting. Dom and Lij had gotten into a fight earlier after Dom had tried to make a joke about something and Lij hadn't handled it too well. They made up with everyone's help and had cried on each other's shoulders until they fell asleep. Viggo had sent them off to bed, Billy going with them. Peter had sent Fran off to sleep about an hour ago. Sean had soon followed. 

The phones shrill ring broke the silence. Viggo reached for it, expecting to have to give the wrong number spiel again. 

"Hello," he couldn't hide the exhaustion in his voice. 

He suddenly bolted off the chair he was sitting in. "Orli where are you. Tell me where you are, I'll come and get you." 

"Where are you?" Viggo turned towards the other two, "He doesn't know where he is, what do we do?" 

Detective Matthews moved to stand next to him. "Tell him to look around, tell him to look for street signs or building names, anything he can see." 

"He's in a restaurant, a pizza place." Viggo told her, "It's okay baby, don 't cry, I'm coming." 

"Tell him to ask anyone in the restaurant what the address is." 

Peter ran down the hall, he opened Fran's door and yelled into the room, "Orli's on the phone, he's okay, he's on the phone." Turning he opened the boys room and yelled the message again. 

Bodies slammed into each other as everyone tried to make it into the living room all at once. 

"5346 Melrose Avenue. Tony's." Viggo told them as they all stopped to stare at him. 

"Let's go," Lij said as he turned to get dressed. 

"No, you're not going. You're going to wait right here. I'm going to have a squad car pick him up." Detective Matthews said sternly. 

She was met with a chorus of no's. 

"Orli needs to see us, not some stranger." Dom told her. 

Everyone started to yell at once. There was no way they were going to wait here while Orli needed them. 

"I'm going, you can't stop me." Viggo told her. 

"Alright, but just you. You can ride with me." She said as she punched numbers into the cell phone in her hand. 

"I want a car sent to 5346 Melrose Avenue. Tony's Pizza Place. MP Orlando Bloom is there. I want them to wait with him until I arrive on the scene is that clear? No one talks to him until I get there." She slammed her finger down on the button and turned to Viggo. "You ready?" 

They both flew out the door.


	4. Chapter 4

\---

Orlando watched as a police car drew up out front. Two officers got out and the thought struck him that maybe the girl really had thought he was stoned, maybe she had rung the police up, maybe they were here to arrest him. He pulled his coat tighter around himself. He slid his hands into the pockets of the leather jacket and gave his head a quick shake trying to clear it. Everything felt so hazy, like he was watching an old movie, like this wasn't really happening. He'd gotten dizzy again so he had taken a seat at one of the small tables. He watched as the policemen entered the restaurant, he was a bit surprised when looking directly at him they ask him his name. 

"Orlando Bloom." He answered. He wondered again if they were going to arrest him, that thought terrified him. How would Viggo find him if he wasn 't here when he finally arrived? 

"I'm waiting for my friend to come and pick me up officer." Orlando said quietly. 

The officer eyed him for a moment, then bending his knees he squatted down in front of Orlando. "We're going to wait here with you until your friend arrives, is that alright with you?" His tone was gentle, almost as if talking to a child. 

"Okay." Orlando said. 

"Are you hurt? Do you need to see a doctor Mr. Bloom? " 

"No, Viggo's going to take me home." 

The man looked up at the other officer, "You want to call it in. Tell them we have him, he's safe." 

The other officer moved back out through the doors again, Orlando watched as he talked into the radio clipped to his shoulder. Safe. He closed his eyes, squeezing them tight he wished he did feel safe. But he didn't, but he would, he just had to wait for Viggo. Viggo would make sure he was safe again. 

The girl was back at the counter, she eyed the officer suspiciously. "He didn't do nothing, why are you bothering him?" 

"It's okay Miss. He's not in any trouble. We're just going to wait with him till his friend arrives." The officer stood and moved to the counter. Orlando could hear him whispering something to the girl. 

"No, he was alone when he came in, I didn't see him till he was already inside. He tripped into that table over there and he asked if he could use the phone. Is he wanted for something?" 

"No, he's just waiting for a friend like he said." The officer wrote something in a notebook and moved back closer to Orlando. He placed a hand on Orlando's shoulder; he removed it when he felt the younger man tense up. "Would you like something to drink Mr. Bloom? Are you hungry?" 

Orlando shook his head, "No thank you, I'm okay. 

Orlando looked up at the sound of another car pulling up out front. As soon as he spied Viggo he was out of the chair and through the doors. He felt pain shoot down his back and legs, but he didn't care, he just had to get to Viggo. 

"Viggo!" 

He didn't mean to stiffen up when Viggo wrapped his arms around him, he really didn't, but he didn't have any control over it. He willed his body to relax. Viggo was here. Everything was going to be okay. For the first time in days Orlando felt sweet relief rush through his body. He felt safe. 

"I want to go home Viggo, please take me home." Orlando pushed his nose into Viggo's shirt, his hands clutched Viggo's jacket. He was so tired, he just wanted to go home, go to bed. That's all he wanted. 

"Are you hurt Orli, are you okay?" Viggo tried to pull back, tried to see Orli's face but the young man wasn't letting go. 

"Mr. Bloom, I'm Detective Cynthia Matthews, why don't you step over here to my car. Have a seat for a moment while I talk to the other officers for a moment. And then I'd like to ask you a few questions before you go home." She motioned for the other two officers to back away for a moment. 

He hadn't even noticed the woman, he wondered why all these police were here. And why did this woman want to talk to him? "No, I don't want to answer any questions, I just want to go home." 

"Just have a seat in my car for a minute. I'll be right back Viggo." She turned and started to question the other officers. 

Viggo lead Orli over to the car, "You have to let go of me, then we'll be safe in the car, just let go of my jacket for a second." 

Orlando didn't want to let go, but he was starting to feel dizzy again, sitting down would be good he told himself. Viggo helped him into the backseat and slid in next to him. He slid his hands up along Orli's jaw line and raised his face out of the shadows. There was just enough light from the street lamps for him to see the dark shadows under Orli's eyes. 

"I'm just so glad you're safe, I was so worried about you." Viggo told him. 

Viggo couldn't believe how pale Orli was. Even with his olive skin tone he didn't have any color. The paleness gave him a slight greenish tint. He looked at the huge black circles again, all he could think about was how tired Orli looked. "Look at me baby." 

Orlando kept his eyes directed down, his mind told him to look at Viggo, but he couldn't bring himself to look up into his lover's eyes. 

"Orli look at me." 

The eyes slowly came up but quickly moved back down to his lap again, he tried to pull his face out of Viggo's hands. He just wanted to lay his head down and go to sleep. 

"Viggo I want to go home. Please." 

"Where were you, where have you been for the past three and half days?" 

"Three days. It seemed longer. I was only gone for three days. Are you sure?" Orlando closed his eyes. "Only three days." 

Viggo pulled the man into his chest and sighed. He'd never seen Orli like this before, it was almost as if this wasn't the Orlando Bloom that he knew and loved. He didn't know what to say, what to do. So he just wrapped his arms around him and pulled him closer. He finally felt Orli's body relax and he just went limp against his side. 

"It's okay, everything's going to be okay. You're safe now." 

Detectives Matthews came back to the car and squatted down next to the open door. She handed Viggo a blanket, she watched as Viggo draped it around the thin body and wrapped his arms around him again. 

Orlando heard the woman speak but it was like she was talking in slow motion, "Orlando I need to ask you a few questions. Can you tell me what happened to you?" 

"No, I don't want to talk about it right now. I just want to go home." Orlando mumbled into Viggo's chest. 

"I'm sorry but this is important. We need to know where you've been for the past three days. We need to know what happened to you." 

She didn't receive a response. 

"Okay, how did you get here?" 

"I woke up in that alley back there, next to the dumpster." He pointed back towards the dark dingy alleyway, his words were barely a whisper, she had to move closer to hear him. 

"Orlando where were you, where have you been till tonight?" 

Viggo closed his eyes and he pulled Orli closer to him. "It's okay Orli, she's a friend, and she just wants to help you." 

He just wanted her to go away, "No. I don't know where I was, he…I was blindfolded the whole time." 

"He? You were with a man? Did you go with him under your own free will?" 

No response again. Detective Matthews knew that this was like pulling teeth, but she'd already dealt with two previous victims before. She knew she had to go slowly. 

"Orli, listen to me, did the man force you to go with him? 

"Yes, he…" 

"He what? Orli. You have to tell me what happened." 

"He hurt me." 

"How did he hurt you? What did he do to you Orlando?" 

He tried to stop them but he couldn't hold back the sobs that suddenly poured from his body. His shoulders were shaking so badly that Viggo had trouble keeping his arms around him. 

"Please…I just want…to go home." He could barely get the words out. All his breath was taken up by the racking sobs coming from deep inside of him. 

"I want to take him home." Viggo told her, he didn't think Orli could take much more of this. "He's been through enough. You can talk to him later, just let me take him home now." 

Detective Matthews slowly shook her head, "I can't let you do that, not yet. He has to see a doctor. Evidence has to be taken." 

Orlando pulled away from Viggo, he shook his head back and forth insistently. "I don't want to see a doctor, I just want to go home. I don' t need to see a doctor Viggo. I'm okay. I'm not lying. I'm fine. Just please take me home." 

Viggo watched as Orli's entire body started to shake. 

"Did the man say anything to you, did he talk to you?" Detective Matthews ask him. 

"Yes, but...I…I can't tell you." 

The woman quickly reached into the pocket of her jacket, she pulled out a small notepad and pen. "Can you write it down for me? That's all I need you to do, write it down." 

She thrust both items into Orlando's hand. He slowly placed his hands around them. He just sat there and stared at them for a long time. She thought he wouldn't do it. But then he started to write, when he was finished he handed the pad back to her. He quickly shoved his face into the crook of Viggo's neck and quietly mumbled for a few moments then he was silent. 

The woman read what Orlando had written. Scrawled across the paper were six words. -- You have been delivered unto me. 

She turned the pad over so that Viggo could read it. She watched as a single tear rolled down the older man's face.   
She looked down at the small dark head and sighed. Standing she turned to the other officer. "I want the area around the dumpster in that alley checked, that's where he left him. If you need me I'll be at Cedar's Sinai Hospital. Call Dana Warren tell her to meet me there." 

"Have them call Elijah's, tell them where we'll be." Viggo told her. 

She relayed his message, shutting the door she circled the car and got into the drivers seat, snapped her seat beat on and the car sped off. 

"It's okay baby, I'm here now, and everything is going to be okay." 

Viggo laid his cheek against Orli's head and let his tears fall silently. He whispered reassurances to him every few seconds. Luckily Orlando didn't know the thoughts that were going through Viggo's mind. Viggo wanted to get mad, rip roaring, stinking mad. He wanted that bastard. He wanted to break him, just like this boy had been broken. But he couldn't get mad. He had to stay in control for Orli's sake. 

"Only a few more minutes, we'll be at the hospital soon." The Detective said. 

The silence in the car was broken by a small tiny whisper, "Please, I don't want to go to the hospital." 

"Are you in any pain?" Viggo asked him. 

"My back hurts, but it's just stiff." Orlando finally choked out. "I couldn't stand up, the chain wasn't long enough." 

He never realized what he'd said. Nor did he see the look that came into Viggo's eyes while he spoke, but he could feel the arms around him pressing him closer. 

Viggo cleared his throat, "Okay, we'll get your back checked. Remember you broke it before. You might have re-injured something. And anyway, I'll be with you. Just let the doctor check you out, make sure everything's alright. Then I promise you, we'll go home." Viggo pleaded with him, "Please just do this for me. I don't think I could sleep tonight knowing you might be in pain." 

"But Viggo…" 

"No buts, you let the doctor check you out, I promise, you get to go home then." 

"Shit!" 

Viggo looked up at Detective Matthews, "What, what's the matter?" 

"Reporters, they must have had news teams stationed at the hospitals, hoping to be here when we brou…" 

"God damn garbage hounds. Can't you make them leave? Can't we use another door?" 

"Reporters? Why are there reporters here?" Orlando questioned them. He leaned forward and saw the small group of people waiting outside the emergency room doors. He turned back to Viggo. "Why are they here Viggo, why?!" 

The desperation could be heard in the young man's voice, Viggo pulled Orli back down to his chest. "Don't worry about it. We'll protect you." 

"Protect me from what?" Orlando closed his eyes. Viggo didn't answer him. 

Orlando couldn't believe it. Something wasn't right here, Viggo was acting like he knew what had happened to him, it was almost as if they all knew exactly what had taken place. Orlando thought about the cops in the restaurant, the way they had treated him. The woman's questions. Wanting to know exactly what the man had said to him. The reporters. 

"What do they know Viggo? What do you know?" Orlando held his breath. 

"Don't worry. Everything is going to be alright. You're safe now," Viggo quietly told him. 

He pulled away from the older man, "Safe from what Viggo? What do you know, tell me…Tell me!" 

"We don't know anything Orli, you haven't really told us anything." Viggo tried to pull him against him again, but Orli pulled away, he placed his hands between Viggo and himself, he held Viggo's arms away from him. 

For the first time he stared into Viggo's eyes. He couldn't read what he saw it. Was it fear, pity? He leaned back against the seat, pulling the blanket around him he turned his head and stared out the window. 

"You know."


	5. Chapter 5

Viggo looked at the clock again, it had only been ten minutes since they'd taken Orli into the examining room but it felt like it was much longer. 

Detective Matthews had made a few phone calls from the car and security would meet them at the emergency room doors. They had covered Orli's head with the blanket and ran through the gauntlet of reporters, once they'd made it inside hospital security had been waiting for them. They'd pushed the reporters back outside none too gently and now stood guard at the doors. Once they'd taken Orli back to see the doctor Viggo had gone back to the four large men and given them the names of his friends so that they would let them pass. He knew they would be arriving soon, he knew that nothing would stop them from coming here. 

When they had taken Orli they hadn't allowed Viggo to go with him, they told him he had to wait in a small waiting room two doors down. He didn't like it, but they wouldn't listen to his arguments. Just told him to wait. 

Orli hadn't fought them, or called out for Viggo. He'd just let the nurse lead him off, his eyes turned to the floor. He hadn't said anything since they'd left the car. Viggo lifted his arms and ran his fingers through his long hair. The look on Orli's face wouldn't leave his mind. He looked so lost, so alone. 

"Sir?" 

Viggo looked up and recognized one of the security men, "Yes?" 

"Your friends are here. I don't know if they all will be allowed back here sir. There's quite a few of them." 

"Thank you." He stood and followed the man back towards the doors again. He eyed the door to Orli's room as he walked by, but he couldn't see anything. When they reached the front desk he could see the reporters were still outside trying to see in, still trying to get their story. "They're in there sir." The man pointed towards a small room to the left. 

"Thank you." 

Peter was the first one Viggo saw. "Viggo how is he? Is he alright?" 

They were all there, Peter, Fran, Elijah, Sean, Dom, and Billy. A new face had been added to the group, Liv Tyler moved forward and wrapped her arms around him. He pulled her into his arms, squeezing her tight he looked at the rest of them over her shoulder. He couldn't keep up with all the voices coming at him. He waited for them to die down. 

"He's with the doctors. He's…" 

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Liv moved to the side and draped an arm around his waist. 

"Take your time. It's okay," she told him. 

Opening his eyes he tried to stop the tears. "It's not okay, he's not okay. He's so scared. He's…I don't know what to tell you, he's tired, he's…it's almost as if he's broken Peter." 

His shoulders shook as he cried. "He just wants to go home. That's all he kept saying. He doesn't want to be here. And the damn reporters, they were waiting for us when we got here." 

"Did they see him?" Sean asked. "They didn't get any pictures of him did they." 

"No, we covered his head with a blanket." Viggo reassured him. 

"Was he…where was he Vig?" Peter asked him. 

Viggo raised his eyes to the ceiling, letting out a long breath again he tried to control himself. 

"He said that…he said the man who took him hurt him. That's all we could get out of him." Viggo told them. "Detective Matthews is positive that it' s the guy the police are looking for." 

"No." Lij cried out. "No, no, no…" 

Billy and Dom moved in on either side of him. Sean moved to them and enclosed them in his arms. The four men just stood and huddled together with their arms around each other. Liv reached out and gripped whatever shoulder she could find, she pressed herself against them, her eyes filling with tears. 

Peter raised his hand to his eyes, he gripped his temples till it hurt. Fran moved behind him and wrapped her arms around him, holding him close. 

"How are you doing?" Fran asked Viggo. 

"I don't know I'm numb. I don't know what I feel right now." Viggo sighed, his face hardened, "No, that's not right. I want to kill the son-of-a-bitch. I want to feel him die with my fucking hands wrapped around his throat. That's how I feel." 

"I'm with you on that mate." Peter said to him. 

"They didn't get him, the police didn't arrest this guy?" Liv asked. 

"No, apparently he dumped Orli in an alley, he just woke up there. He didn' t know how he got there, he was woozy. I think he might have been drugged." Viggo told them. "They wouldn't let me go back with him, Detective Matthews is with him," he closed his eyes again, he clenched his hands into fist. "They're collecting evidence." 

"He's strong Vig, he's going to be alright." Peter told him. 

"You didn't see him, he looked so small. So broken. It's almost as if it wasn't him, like it wasn't Orli" 

"Peter's right, he's been through a lot, but he's tough." Sean said, "you' ll see. He'll be okay. He has to be okay." 

"He woke up by a dumpster Peter, he just left him there like he was a piece of garbage. He kept him chained up and hurt him, and when he was finished with him he just threw him away." 

*******

He watched as the nurse laid a gown on the exam table and moved to the side. It was blue with some type of paisley design on it. He could hear the nurse talking, but he couldn't understand what she was saying. He looked up and noticed the woman cop was in the room. She was talking on her cell phone again. He looked back at the gown, he knew he was supposed to put it on, but his arms just weren't working. So he just stood there staring at it. 

They knew. They all knew what had happened to him. He didn't know how they knew, they just did. He figured he would go home, crawl into bed and just sleep. And then tomorrow when he woke up everything would be back to normal. He could be Orli again and everything would be alright. But that couldn't happen now. They knew, and that made everything different somehow. 

The nurse was beside him again, he looked up into her dark brown face and stared at her while she spoke to him, she looked like someone's grandmother. Once he figured out what she was saying he nodded and looked back at the gown again. But his arms still wouldn't seem to move. 

"Sugar, can you understand me, you need to undress and put on the gown. The doctor will be with you in a moment." 

She moved back again and he managed to move his hand to the gown. His fingers pressed against the material but didn't move. 

"Are you in any kind of pain right now. To your knowledge are you bleeding anywhere? Any cuts, bruising?" The nurse fired off her questions with a soft voice. 

"No, I don't think so." 

A hand came up and grasped the collar of his jacket. "Here, let me help you with that. I can…" 

Orlando pulled back from her, he managed to choke out the words he needed. "No, I can manage thank you." 

"I'm sorry we can't let you undress alone Orli, because of the circumstances I have to be here, I have to witness everything," she informed. "Would you rather have a male officer?" 

"No, not a man." Orlando told her, his voice shook. "I…I'm okay." 

He turned his back and slowly started to remove his clothes. He carefully folded each garment as it came off. He laid them on the small chair that was sitting next to the table. 

He looked up as another woman came into the room. She carried a large black box. Setting the box down on a table she nodded at the Detective. 

"Cyn, what do you need me to do?" 

"Orli this is Dana Warren, she's our forensics expert. She's going to be collecting any evidence that we find." 

The second woman held her hand out towards Orlando, he stared at it for a few seconds then reached out and lightly shook her hand. 

The two women were quietly talking on the other side of the room, Orlando eyed them for a few moments, but he couldn't hear what they were saying. 

Toeing his shoes off he then tried to unbutton his trousers. He had trouble grasping the small button because his fingers were shaking so badly. He picked up the gown and started to place his arm into the sleeve, he'd put the gown on first, then remove his trousers. 

"Wait, I'm going to need a few pictures before you put your gown on." The woman named Dana moved closer as she spoke. 

"Pictures?" 

"We need to take pictures of your body Orli…" 

"Orlando. I…don't call me…just call me Orlando." He didn't know why he said it, it just came out of his mouth. 

Matthews nodded her head at him, "Alright, Orlando, we need to take pictures of the front, back and both sides of your body." 

"Why, I don't understand?" Orlando looked down at himself and froze. He was covered with bruises, green ones, yellow and purple ones too. Some were darker than others. They were on both arms and across his chest. There was a large almost black one right in the center of his chest. When he spoke it was barely a whisper. "Oh. Evidence." 

"Yes, we'll be as quick as possible, I promise." Dana told him. Looking up he noticed the large black camera in her hand. 

He could do this. His job was cameras. He was in front of cameras all the time. 

He finally managed to grasp the button and slide it through the hole. He kept his eyes on the floor, trying to forget about the other people in the room. As he slid his trousers down he noticed his pants were missing. He tried to remember which one's he'd worn that day. Blue boxers briefs, it was the dark blue ones. Should he tell the Detective? 

"Ah," His throat felt so dry, as he cleared his throat. 

"Yes Orlando?" The Detective questioned. "Is there something else you remembered?" 

He didn't look up at her, "My pants…my pants aren't…I'm not…my pants are gone." 

"Your pants…" Detective Matthews glanced down at the jeans wrapped around his ankles. "Your underpants?" 

"Y…yes." 

"Can you describe them to me?" Detective Matthews pulled her notebook out and started to write. 

Orlando gave her the information, while he was speaking he noticed the bruises on his hips and legs. The same deep colors ran over the lower part of his body also. 

"Okay, Orlando can you face me." Dana asked him quietly. 

He folded his trousers and placed them with the rest of his clothes. Slowly turning towards her he raised his eyes to a corner of the ceiling in front of him and kept them there. 

"I'm gonna need you to move your hands." 

Orlando hadn't even realized that he'd cupped his hands over his genitals. He held his breath and moved his hands to his sides. He felt a hot pain course through his head when the first flash went off and he instinctively closed his eyes. The flashing continued a few more times. 

"Can you turn to your left please?" 

Turning he moved his eyes to the next corner. The room was filled with whirling and clicking noises. He turned and looked at the camera. 

"And now your right." 

He turned, "That noise…" He listened to the sounds coming from the camera closely. 

"What about the noise Orlando?" Matthews asked him. 

"I…think he took pictures of me. There was a noise…like that, every few seconds I'd hear the same noise."  
She scribbled in her notebook again. 

"Is there anything else you can tell me Orlando, anything else you remember?" 

He shook his head. "No, I was blindfolded, I couldn't see anything. He would…" 

The Detective waited. She seemed to understand that he needed time to get the words out. 

"He would come into the room, and then he'd…he'd wash me…then feed me, give me water. Then he would…" He didn't think he could say it. 

"Could you face away from me now Orlando." Dana again, he'd almost forgotten about the pictures for a moment. 

Turning to face the curtain behind him he thought it might be easier to say it if he didn't have to see them. 

"He would…rape me." He watched as the flashes lit up the gray curtain. 

When the flashes stopped he turned and watched her set the camera down on the open case. She removed a bunch of small plastic bags and a bunch of tubes, long and thin, the tops were covered with small white boxes. They looked like traveling toothbrushes to Orlando. 

As he turned Dana moved to stand in front of him, she held one of the long tube like objects in her hand. "I need to know where he was when the rape took place? Was he facing you, or was your back turned to him?"  
"Behind me…he was behind me." Orlando said, he placed his hand over his genitals again without thinking about it.  
"If you could turn around, I need to get a scraping of your back." She pulled the white box down and Orlando saw a large white cotton swab on the end of the tube. 

He turned and leaned forward slightly over the table. He felt something glide along his back from bottom to top. 

"Okay, you can put the gown on now." 

He pulled the gown on and held the back closed. He left his socks on. 

"I need you to lay back on the table for me if you could." Dana stood to the side of the table with another one of the long tubes in her hand. 

Orlando crawled up on the table trying to keep the gown from getting twisted up. 

The nurse moved to the bottom of the table, dropping the lower part she reached down and pulled a large silver contraption up and locked it into place, she did the same to the other side of the table. He knew what they were, they held a woman's legs up during…" 

"What are you going to do?" Orlando asked, he felt his muscles tensing up again. 

Dana moved to his right, using a black marker she wrote something on the white box in her hand. "I need you to relax okay, the doctor is going to come in and she's going to help me collect the samples I'll need. First we' re going to take some of your blood. Swabbings of your skin, plus I'm going to take samples from under your fingernails. Also a few clippings of your nails, just incase you scratched him without realizing it. Then the doctor will take a swab of your rectum. There could be DNA evidence, if there is we'll need a sample of it to use against your attacker. It's a bit invasive, but she'll be as gentle as possible I promise. I know this is uncomfortable for you Orlando, but we'll try and make it as brief as possible." 

"Honey, I'll need you to place your legs in the stirrups please," the nurse said from the bottom of the table. 

*******

"It's been two bloody hours. Are you sure he was alright Vig?" Dom asked. He'd been pacing back and forth for twenty minutes now. 

They others were curled up in the hard plastic chairs that were lined up on either side of the room. No one had come to tell them anything, and the few times they'd wandered out to the desk to ask they were told he was still with the doctor. Viggo had reminded the nurse twice to tell the doctor about Orlando's back, she had assured him that the doctor had been informed. They'd watched as large pieces of equipment had been taken into the room, and then removed. Still no sign of Orlando. Fran had tried to get a few of them to go with her to get coffee but none of them had been willing to leave the room. 

"Sit down Dom, pacing isn't going to make anything happen any quicker." Peter told the boy. 

A woman stepped into the room. "Mr. Mortensen?" 

Viggo was the first one out of his chair. "Yes, I'm Viggo Mortensen." 

She gave him her hand, "I'm Doctor Linley. I'm the physician assigned to Mr. Bloom's case." 

"How is he, can we take him home now?" 

"He's signing himself out right now. You'll be able to take him home as soon as he's dressed. The police had to take his clothes, we've given him a pair of scrubs to wear home. I understand Orlando's parents aren't in the country?" 

"No, his father is dead, his mother is in England." 

"But there is someone who'll be accompanying Orlando home right? Someone to stay with him?" 

A chorus of yes's were heard from various people in the room. 

"I'll be taking him home with me. He won't be alone, no." Viggo told her, no one denied this statement. 

"Can I speak to you outside for a moment please." She moved out into the hallway. Viggo followed her. 

Lij started to go after them but Peter grabbed his shoulder. "Let her talk to him alone Elijah." 

"You'll be his primary caregiver?" the doctor asked as soon as they were alone. 

Viggo nodded, "Yes. His friends will be there to help too. He'll never be alone." 

She nodded her head, "I've given him Tylenol Three, that should control any residual pain he has. He's complaining of dizziness, we did find slight bruising on the side of his head but nothing that would lead us to suspect a concussion or any type of serious head trauma. We will be testing his blood for any type of drugs, you'll get those plus the x-ray results in a few days. I can't find anything that would lead me to believe his previous back injury has been compromised in anyway. He does have bruising over various parts of his body but there doesn't seem to be anything major. I informed him that ice would help the bruising and keep any swelling down. There are also a few spots on his hips where frost bite could have set in if he'd remained in that environment any longer, luckily he was moved in time. Warm compresses for a few days should take care of it. He'll need to see his family doctor in a few days just in case, if you don't have one you can use the hospital referral service. Or he can find one himself. But don't worry, everything I have told you has been written down for him." 

Viggo nodded, he was out of his element here, he didn't know how to respond to her. He considered any bruising major, but he wasn't going to argue with the doctor. And the frostbite…in Los Angeles. 

"Now, there was some rectal tearing. But it's not as bad as it could have been. I've given him an anesthetic cream for that, plus a prescription for antibiotics that you'll need to get filled, it's a strong one just in case any infection would set in." 

Viggo felt himself go stiff. Just the thought of what that animal had done to Orli caused his chest to tighten, he tried to draw air into his longs. He managed it, but barely. 

"We've taken care of the physical side of it, but I'm not going to lie to you. Orlando was raped; a multiple rape victim needs more than physical care. He needs a professional to talk to. You can use our referral service for that too. He will have to see someone, the sooner the better. And frankly when I told him this he really didn't respond very well. Maybe you'll have better luck. As I said in rape cases the physical part is only fifty percent of the healing process. It's important for him to seek some type of mental healing too. Do you understand?" 

"Yes, I understand. Can I go in and see him now?" 

"He should be out any second now. If you'll just wait here. Wait, here he is now." 

Orli came out into the hall as she finished speaking. He moved towards Viggo but stopped a few feet away. 

"They said I could go home now. Will you take me home?" He stared at the floor as he spoke. 

"Orli!" 

People came rushing out of the waiting room, they all moved towards him. He backed up a few feet, they all stopped and watched him, except for Elijah, he threw himself against Orli, the older boy stiffened up but Elijah never noticed. Orlando moved his arms up and laid them against the other boy, he didn't pull him towards him like he normally would. He just let them rest there. 

"Lij." Moving back a bit he tried smiling at the other boy. It ended up looking more like a grimace. 

He turned towards Viggo. "Please, I need to go home." 

He never noticed the look on Elijah's face, the hurt, the confusion. 

Viggo looked at Peter. "Can you make sure everyone gets home safe, I'm taking Orli to my place." 

"Sure, come on everyone say goodnight, Orli needs his rest." Peter looked at Orlando and smiled. "We'll see you later Orli. We're all glad you' re…safe. We'll talk to you tomorrow okay." 

Orlando nodded his head. 

"We're glad your okay Orli, we were worried about you." Billy told him softly. He moved down the hall, he pulled Dom and Elijah with him. 

"Later mate." Dom told him looking back. 

Another nod. 

Liv slowly moved closer to Orli, he didn't back away so she laid her hand against his and said, "Love you." 

"Love you too." Orlando whispered, he never took his eyes off the floor. She turned and followed the others. 

Sean didn't know what to say to the other man so he smiled, raising his hand he waved and followed the others down the hall. 

"Let us know if you need anything. Viggo has our hotel number. If you need us…" Fran moved off with Peter and it was just Orlando and Viggo left in the hallway. 

"You ready?" Viggo reached out to take Orli's hand, all he managed to get were two fingers. 

Orli moved off down the hall pulling his fingers from Viggo's grasp. He walked next to him but every time Viggo got close he moved a step or two away.


	6. Chapter 6

The sun was just coming up, Viggo sat on his deck and watched the ribbons of color streak across the sky. Dawn had always been one of his favorite times. He remembered the first time he'd rolled Orli out of bed to watch the sun come up, and literally roll him is what he'd had to do. He'd grabbed the mattress, lifted it up, and laughed as he watched Orli slide onto the carpeted floor with a dull thud. His elf had never been a morning person, and he hadn't found that episode particularly funny that bright August morning in New Zealand. 

"What do you think you gained by that display?" Orli had asked in a sleepy voice as he rolled over and tried to snuggle into the blankets twisted around him. "I'm still not getting up." 

"Yes you are." Viggo smirked down at him. "Either you get up or I drag your ass out of here naked. Think Sean would like to see your rosy little butt as we pass by his room?" 

"He's seen it already, remember?" Orli had sniggered. 

He smiled as he thought back to the night at their favorite pub when Lij and Orli had decided that it was in the world's best interest to see their naked asses all night long. He'd never seen that many moons in one night before. For a grand finale they had somehow managed to talk the others into joining them for one final moon. Viggo was the proud owner of a shot of Ian, both Sean's, Hugo, Karl, the rest of the hobbits', Orli, John and even Liv's asses. When morning had finally rolled around Liv wouldn't believe she'd actually done it until Viggo had processed the film. He'd always joked that he was going to get rich selling that picture one day. 

"Come on, time's a wasting. The sun will be up in twenty minutes. The beach is right out back. And you and I are going to be wrapped in blankets on that beach in ten minutes. I promise you won't regret it. Let's go." 

They'd barely made it, and Orli had been amazed at how beautiful it had been. He'd told Viggo that he'd seen other sunrises, but that one had been special, special because it had been his first sunrise with Viggo. And then that had lead to kissing, and then touching, and then a quick run back to the house because they hadn't even thought about taking any condoms down to the beach with them. They'd gotten so loud in their lovemaking that Beanie had started banging on the wall and cursing at them to shut the hell up. They had laughed of course. 

He'd bought this house because of that morning. The beach was only five hundred feet from his home, a short trek through his back yard and there you were. Unfortunately the sun rose in the east so there was no sun breaking over the beautiful water, but it was still spectacular to watch. Plus, they 'd remembered the condoms when they'd christened this beach. 

The sunrise didn't impress him this morning. He'd sat up all night watching Orli sleep. He was tired but he'd just had to get a breath of fresh air for a minute. He'd just take a few moments out here and then head back in to bed. 

He thought it would be better once he got Orli home last night. It hadn't gotten any better. 

Detective Matthews had driven them home. Orli had been quiet in the car, if Viggo asked him anything all he got was a non-committal grunting noise. When they had finally arrived Viggo had tossed the supplies from the hospital onto the kitchen table and had lead Orli up the steps to the bathroom. He started the shower, after adjusting the water he turned to help Orli out of his clothes. Orli had told him he would do it himself, moving away so quickly he had jammed his hip into the countertop. Viggo had backed off, he'd grabbed a large bath towel from the closet, a robe from the bedroom, by the time he'd made it back Orli had been in the shower. He told him if he needed him just to give a yell. Orli had asked him to leave the door open. It was the first full sentence he'd heard from him since leaving the hospital. Leaving the door open as he had asked, Viggo had slipped through the doorway, leaning against the wall right outside he had waited until he heard the water shut off before moving back downstairs to the kitchen. 

He grabbed two of the pills and a bottle of water and headed back to the bedroom turning the lights off on the way. Orli had been standing in front of his dresser wearing a black pair of boxer briefs when he walked in. He'd almost dropped the bottle when he saw the bruised body in front of him. There wasn't much skin that wasn't bruised. He didn't know how he did it but he stayed cool, he had been afraid of Orli's reaction if he did say anything. Later, there would be plenty of time later. He handed him the pills and the bottle of water, he'd watched as Orli swallowed both pills, took a large swig from the bottle, handing the bottle back to Viggo he moved to the bed, he laid down on his back and pulled the covers up to his chin and closed his eyes. All without saying a word. 

Viggo had cleaned the bathroom up as fast as possible. Undressed quickly, decided to leave his own underpants on he'd hit the light switch, he reached out to shut the bedroom door. 

"Leave the door open please." 

Letting the door go he turned and crawled into the bed. He laid down on his side, shifting over he slid his arm across Orli and prepared to pull him closer. He felt Orli start to stiffen up so he let his arm rest there for a few seconds, just laying a crossed his stomach. After a few minutes he felt him slowly start to relax again. He let his eyesight adjust to the darkness and waited for Orli to start talking to him. 

They always talked in bed. Always. In Viggo's history of relationships he' d found out that most men didn't talk after sex, they just rolled over and went to sleep. He'd heard his mother's friends making jokes about all their husbands when he was growing up, but until his second or third liaison with a man he hadn't realized how true it really was. He'd met a few men who talked a bit in bed, but nothing like Orli. Orli would snuggle up to him and talk his ear off. It had taken him a while to get used to it. Now he'd come to expect it. He'd even learned how to talk back, it had taken a while but he begun to enjoy those conversations. Most of time Viggo fell asleep with Orli still talking, he'd come to love hearing his sexy little whisper lulling him to sleep. After New Zealand it had taken weeks for him to get used to not hearing it. Hell, one night he'd gone downstairs and gotten Henry's videotape of one of his visits to Wellington and stuck it in the VCR and let it run all night. Orli's voice could be heard through practically the entire tape. Viggo had once made the statement that if you put Orli in front of a camera he'd never shut up. The machine had woke him up when it had stopped running and automatically started to rewind, he'd had to turn the damn thing on again to fall back to sleep. He hadn't had a good nights sleep until Orli had come to LA and they'd resumed their relationship. Then he had been off again for a time, so Viggo kept the tape handy. He'd finally returned the tape to the cabinet downstairs when he'd finally moved over here to the states. He'd spent an occasional night at Elijah's still, but most of his time was spent at Viggo's. 

But last night had been different, Orli had never said a word. And he had never moved. Orli always moved. Awake, asleep, it didn't matter. That was another thing Viggo had had to get used to, Orli thrashing around in bed at night. He'd roll to the left, roll to the right, roll over Viggo, try to squeeze under Viggo. Curl up, stretch out. Take up all the room, move to the edge and hang off the edge, that was Orli, all of that and more. But last night he had never moved. Not once. That had scared Viggo more than anything else. He'd ended up listening to his breathing just to make sure he was alright. 

He rolled his neck across his shoulders and watched dawn turn into morning. He thought about all the phone calls he had to make today. He'd already called Orli's mother early this morning, he'd just told her Orli was safe and he was home again. Nothing else, he'd told her that Orli needed time to rest; he'd have him call her soon. Then he'd spoken to Ian. Ian wasn't one you could put one over on, he knew the minute he heard Viggo' s voice that everything wasn't fine. But he hadn't pushed. It was one of the reasons why Viggo loved him so much. He also had to call Beanie, let him know what was going on. And then he had to call Henry. He'd found a message on his answering machine, Exene calling to tell him that Henry had seen the news. They were both worried about Orli and Viggo was supposed to call as soon as possible. That was his ex-wife for you; she was worried about his lover. Hell, even she had fallen in love with Orli the first time she'd met him. 

He dreaded that call. How do you tell your son that there are monsters in this world and that one of them had hurt someone he cared about? He'd tell him the truth, he always told Henry the truth, always. He just had to figure out how, that's all. He had to find the words first. 

******

Orlando woke up to warm blankets and a soft mattress under him. He was home. He wasn't lying on a cold metal slab, there were no chains wrapped around his wrists. It suddenly struck him that even though it had been Lij' s place that he had thought about back in that dark room it was really Viggo 's house that he had wanted to be taken too. This was home to Orlando. This was where he wanted to be, where he needed to be. He was home. He was in Viggo's bedroom, in Viggo's rustic split level that he loved. He slowly looked around the room and waited to feel all the anxiety disappear. But it didn't. He watched the doorway for a few seconds before he realized he was waiting to see…see what, a man dressed in black coming to take him back to that room. Back to the nightmare. He had thought it would be different. He thought he could call Viggo, Viggo would come and get him, take him home, put him to bed, and then he'd wake up in the morning and everything would just go back to normal. He could forget all about it and never have to tell anyone what had happened to him. He'd actually thought that once he was here, once he got to sleep everything would be normal again. But he didn't feel normal. He felt…used. 

Used and abused as Atti used to say after a grilling night on stage. It'd been a joke then, but it wasn't a joke now. Orlando felt used and abused. Which is what he'd been. 

When he was younger Atti had been abused, he'd gotten over it, he'd even made jokes about it in his show. But Orlando didn't think he could make jokes about it. He wasn't as strong as Atti. Just the thought of his friend brought the knowledge that if Atti was here right now he would look him directly in the eyes and shout out, 'get the hell out of this bed and get on with your life, if you don't, you lose.' 

He moved his head towards the windows and noticed that it was still dark outside. Moving from the bed slowly, his body ached all over but it felt so good to have his freedom back again. As he stood up he felt a touch of dizziness, he swayed for a moment, but it soon left him. He moved to the large chair and a half that sat in front of the three windowed alcove. Viggo loved this small little corner of his bedroom, and when he wanted to relax, when the rain kept him from the beach or the deck, he would sit here in this chair, his favorite, and watch the day begin. He'd open all three blinds so that he would have the best view he could get. And he wanted to be comfortable while doing it, so he'd bought this second chair; it's mate, done in the exact same pattern of cream with light green vertical stripes, was down in the living room. Orlando had never seen a chair and a half before these two, they were large enough to fit two people into, and both chairs came with matching ottomans, you could lay back and stretch out to your hearts content. To him they were one of the greatest inventions of the world. He thought about the mornings that he and Viggo had sat together all snuggled up in this chair. 

Stepping into the chair he sunk down with his feet under him. He reached over and pulled the middle window blind half way up. He could just make out the first rays of the sun creeping across the sky, leaning back he scrunched up into the corner with his feet still tucked up under him. He didn't see Viggo down on the beach so he knew he must be on the deck. Part of him, the old Orli, the young and irresponsible one, wanted to go out and curl up on Viggo's lap and just sit with him. But this new person, this Orlando, wasn' t ready for that yet. He needed to know exactly how much Viggo knew about the last three days of his life. He needed to know how Viggo seemed to have known where he was without Orlando telling him. 

He sat there, he didn't know how much time had passed, he really didn't care, he just sat and stared out the window. 

A sudden noise behind him made him jump; throwing himself out of the chair he stood and watched the doorway. 

******

"Good morning." Viggo said as he spied Orli by the chair at the windows. He had noticed the boy's quick escape from the chair, he wondered if he had surprised him. "I didn't think you would be up yet. How you doing?" 

"I'm okay." Orlando told him. 

Viggo could feel his eyes on him as he moved around the room. He pulled a pair of sweats and a t-shirt out of the bottom drawer, and threw them on the bed. 

"Are you hungry, I can make you something to eat?" Viggo said as he faced Orli. 

"How did you know what…what had happened to me?" 

Viggo stopped what he was doing and turned to look at him. 

"You knew didn't you? That's why you had the police with you when you came to get me last night." 

Viggo searched his mind for a way to explain everything to Orli. He finally settled on the cold hard truth. 

"We weren't sure, but we thought that it was a good possibility that you could be with…that man." 

A visible shiver went through Orlando's body. 

Grabbing a blanket off the bed Viggo slowly moved towards him. "Sit down, wrap this around you." 

Orlando let him wrap the blanket around his shoulders. Taking a seat back in the chair, he sat with his legs tucked under him again. Viggo pulled out the ottoman and sat down facing him. 

"When you didn't show up for the signing, I got a bad feeling. I tried to tell myself that I was wrong. That maybe you were just lost in traffic or something else had come up. But then when we found your car in the parking lot…I got scared, we all got scared." 

"My car. I forgot about my car." 

Viggo noticed that Orli was actually looking at him this morning, unlike last night when he had kept his eyes on the floor. Just the fact that the boy could face him gave him a warm feeling. He'd been so afraid that Orli would still be cutting himself off from him. 

"It's okay, the police have it right now, but don't worry about it, you'll get it back." Viggo reassured him. "Anyway, we'd called the police when we found it. They searched it later, but they didn't find anything. When we first called them they said they couldn't do anything for twenty-four hours. And there was no way we could all just sit there and wait, we didn't know where you were, we didn't know what we were going to do." 

"So you waited for a day, a whole day." 

Viggo closed his eyes for a second and gathered his thoughts. He had to word this carefully. "No, we didn't. We heard something on the TV well it was Elijah actually. It was a story about this…" Viggo took a breath, he waved his hand in front of him, as if the answer could just be snatched out of thin air, "about this serial rapist, the one they call the Delivery Man." 

He watched as Orli turned his face away, he could actually feel the tension ripple off the boy. He sat up straighter as he watched Orli's eyes roam up the wall, almost as if he was trying to find someplace to hide. He started to reach out to touch him, reassure him anyway he could. 

"Orli please don't turn away from me, don't hide from me. Please look at me." He gently laid his hand over his pale stiff jaw line. He could see the tears already forming there. "Don't cry baby. Please." 

He saw the thin lips quiver, he knew the boy was trying to say something, but nothing was coming out of his mouth. 

"It's okay, you're home now. He can't hurt you anymore. Shhhh, you're okay." 

Sniffling Orli turned his head back towards Viggo. "I'm home. Really home." 

"Yes, you're home. I called your mother this morning and she can't wait to hear from you." 

Orlando shook his head back and forth for a moment. "My mum. I don't know…I have no idea what I'm going to tell her. She must have been going crazy, and Sam, is Sam with my mum?" 

"Yes, she is, and Ian's with her too, she's fine. They're both fine, but right now all you have to worry about is yourself, don't worry about anything else. We just need to worry about getting you better." 

Viggo moved his hand down to the fingers tightly wrapped around the blanket. Placing his fingers over them he moved closer to the chair, "Orli, last night I spoke with your doctor, Dr. Linley, do you remember her?" 

"Yes, at the hospital, I remember." 

"She said that you need to talk to someone, a professional, about what's happened to you. There's a list of numbers…" 

The hands started to pull away, but Viggo wouldn't let them go. When the boy couldn't get free he started shaking his head back and forth. "I don't need to talk to anyone Viggo, I don't want too. I'm home now, and I'm safe. I don't have to worry about any of…that, not anymore. I'm home now. With you." 

"Orli listen to me, please just listen. You are home, and I promise I will keep you safe, I promise you with my life, nothing is going to happen to you ever again. But you do need to talk to someone…" 

"I can't talk about it, please don't make me. I can't, if I talk about it…" 

"Why, why can't you talk about? It's the only way we can help you if we know what happened." 

Orlando forcefully shook his head back and forth. "I'll tell you…what happened…only you, I promise I will, but please don't make me tell anyone else. I don't…I can't." 

Viggo was surprised when the boy suddenly threw himself onto his lap, he barely had time to wrap his arms around him. Orli practically crawled inside of Viggo; he was draped so tightly around his body. 

"Please Viggo, you don't know how hard it was to tell them last night. I don't want to talk about it anymore. I just want it to go away. I promise, I won't mess up anymore, please, please don't make me…" 

"Orli, Orli…just stop a minute, listen to me." 

He waited as the younger man slowly wound himself down until the only thing Viggo could hear were a few breathless sobs coming from him. He pulled the beautiful tear stained face up to his. 

"Orli, you didn't mess up. Do you hear me? None of this was your fault. You didn't do a damn thing wrong. Don't even think that. Everything that happened to you was that…that monsters fault. You don't think that any one of us blame you for what happened do you?" 

"I don't know, I must have done something…" 

"No, you did nothing. This is why you have to see someone, someone who can help you. Maybe they can help you understand why this happened." 

Viggo ran hands up and down the boys body, he could feel the tension slowly easing out of his body. He decided to let it rest, he'd bring it up later, after Orli was more rested. 

"Are you hungry? Why don't we go get you something to eat." 

They walked downstairs, Orli wearing just his pants and the blanket wrapped tightly around him, taking a seat at the table he watched Viggo move around the room. Viggo decided to make pancakes; he then set the table and poured two glasses of orange juice. As he worked he told Orli some of the things that had happened in the last few days. 

"So Pete and Fran missed their flight home, they were supposed to fly home the day after the signing weren't they?" Orli questioned as he poured syrup over the small stack of pancakes that Viggo sat down in front of him. 

Nodding, Viggo took a seat facing Orli, "Yeah, they were, but they wanted to stay here and make sure you were alright." 

Orli just sat there with his fork in his hand. "And Billy, was Billy here last night? He wasn't supposed to come in till next month, I didn't mean to mess up everyone's plans. I truly didn't." 

Viggo sighed as he wrapped his fingers around Orli's hand. "Orli you didn't mess up anyone's plans. We were worried about you. No one could leave not knowing where you were, what had happened to you." 

"But Billy and Peter…Pete's a busy man, he has so much too do, he has to get the next movie ready. Fran too, then there's the…" 

"Orli, none of that mattered to us." Viggo told him. "We all love you, you know that don't you?" 

"Yes…I do. I missed you. I mean I missed everyone but I missed you the most Viggo." As the words tumbled out of his mouth the tears started again. 

Viggo had had it, he didn't care how Orli would react he was tired of not being able to touch him. He realized he'd been afraid to touch him, afraid to push him in any way. But he'd had enough. Orli wrapping himself around him in the bedroom had given him a small amount of hope. Sliding out of his chair he dropped to his knees at the same time he pulled Orli's chair around to face him. 

"I'm right here, do you hear me, I'm right here." He pushed his hands into the folds of the blanket; pulling the younger man to the edge of the chair he wrapped him in his arms. "Whatever happens I'm going to be right next to you. I'm not going anywhere, you won't be able to get rid of me."


	7. Chapter 7

"Are you going to call Atti back?" 

Viggo stirred the noodles and turned to grab the strainer, placing it in the sink he turned off the stove. His question was ignored. 

"You know he's called a few times in the last few weeks, if you don't call him he's just going to keep calling." 

Orlando looked up from the notebook he was scribbling in and sighed. "If he does tell him I'll call him back." 

Viggo stopped what he was doing, "No, I won't." 

Orlando clenched his jaw, "I won't talk to him." 

"Then you can tell him that. If the phone rings I'll let you answer it." 

Grabbing two potholders he lifted the fettuccini and poured it into the strainer. Dropping the pot on the counter he turned the water on, turning the strainer in a full circle he let the water drain through the pasta. 

"Whatever." 

"What, you think I won't do it?" 

Slamming the notebook shut Orlando stood and headed for the backdoor. Sliding the glass door out of the way he stepped out onto the deck, slamming the door shut behind him. 

It was a full ten minutes before Viggo followed him. He hadn't been sure he would. 

"You forgot this." Viggo laid something down on the round wood table next to his chair, without another word he turned around and walked back inside. 

Orlando looked down and spied the small black cordless telephone. 

"I won't answer it!" He yelled out loud. No answer. Fine, he thought. If the damn thing rang he wouldn't pick it up, Viggo wouldn't be able to handle that, he'd come out and get it. 

He opened his book back up and started writing. 

\He doesn't love me.\ 

He suddenly realized what he had written and scratched it out until the paper tore. 

He couldn't write that in his journal, that damn doctor would have a field day with that. 'Oh, you're a poof, well there ya go, that's why you were raped.' 

Viggo wouldn't make love to him. It hurt. At night when they would crawl into bed together he would wait, wait for Viggo to pull him close and touch him. But he never did. He'd just lay his arm across him and go to sleep. Wonder what the fucking shrink would say about that? 

"Well Orlando, you've been raped, and that makes you dirty. Viggo doesn't want something that's dirty. Stiff upper lip and all that mate, he lets you stay out of pity, but he really doesn't want you here anymore. At least before…before this Viggo wanted me for sex, but now that was gone too. He never loved me, and the sex is out, so why am I here. Because he fucking pities you, you stupid git." 

He grabbed the edge of the page and tore it out of the notebook, crumbling it up in a small ball he threw it onto the large picnic table about four feet away. 

He remembered the day in Dr. Connors office when she'd told him that she wanted him to start a daily journal. "It will help Orlando if you can get your thoughts, your feelings down on paper, it will tell me how to deal with your situation." 

"Deal with my situation, yeah that's all everyone is worried about, dealing with my situation. What the fuck is my situation?" 

He wished he hadn't stopped smoking. A cigarette would be good right about now. 

He didn't like her, that stupid fucking doctor. It had nothing to do with her being a shrink, okay, so he didn't want to talk about what happened to him, it never got easier, not with the doctors, not with the cops, not with his mum, and especially not when he'd told Viggo. But he'd done it, done it till he wanted to scream. No, that's wasn't his problem with Dr. Connors. It had more to do with her attitude. Sometimes Orlando thought that he could get up and leave the room and she wouldn't even notice he was gone until that assistant of hers came to tell her that his time was up. It was almost as if she didn't give a shit if Orlando talked or not. Sometimes they just sat there for ten or fifteen minutes in silence before she'd asked him another question, even though he never answered the first one. She never looked at him, never really spoke to him, not to him personally. He wondered if she had a list of questions that she asked every rape victim. 

How did it make you feel Orlando… 

What did you say to him Orlando… 

What did you do when he did that Orlando… 

How did you react to the same words over and over again Orlando… 

Did that make you angry Orlando… 

"Like shit Dr. Connors, I told him to fuck off Dr. Connors, I knocked his fucking ass to the floor Dr. Connors, I told him to shut the fuck up Dr. Connors, fuck yes he made me angry, just like you make me bleeding angry Dr. Connors." He answered now, here on the deck where he was alone and no one could hear him, but he never answered her in her office. Hell no he didn't answer her; if she couldn't look at him then he didn't have to answer her. And he didn't like the way she said Viggo's name, it was like she was saying a dirty word or something. He expected to see her sneer when she said it. 

He jumped slightly when the phone beside him began to ring. 

"I'm not answering you so just hold on till the smart ass comes and picks you up." Great, now I'm talking to telephones, what's next, am I gonna start hearing voices? 

After the fifth ring he'd had enough. "Viggo pick up the goddamn phone!" 

On the sixth ring he stood up, grabbed the phone and slammed his way back into the house. 

"Don't slam the door please, those things are expensive." Viggo quietly said to him. 

"Here." Holding out the phone he waited for Vig to take it. 

"I'm not answering it. I told you that." 

"Just take the phone Viggo." 

Ignoring the phone Viggo stood, stepping around the large chair he'd been sitting in he moved towards the kitchen. "They're your friends too, if you want to ignore them fine. But you tell them yourself. I'm tired of telling your lies."   
"What is this, some new psycho-analyst bullshit that they've got you trying on me now? Force him to talk to his friends, force him to act like nothing is wrong." Orlando threw the phone onto the couch as he walked by, his notebook went flying onto the chair, he followed Viggo into the kitchen. 

"You can tell Connors that she can kiss my ass, I'm not playing her little games, or yours." 

"I'm not playing any games, I've never spoken to Dr Connors, you know that. It's been two months. Your friends are worried about you. You won't talk to them, you won't see them. 

"You know why." Orlando snapped. 

"Orli…" 

"I told you don't call me that." 

Viggo dropped his head to his chest and blew out a large breath. Calming himself he tried again. 

"Orlando" he drew the name out, pronouncing every syllable very slowly. "This is Liv, Elijah, Dom, Billy, and Sean we're talking about, not some strangers. They just want to talk to you, see how you're doing, that's all. Peter and Fran wanted to talk to you before they left last week too. Couldn 't you have just said goodbye to them?" 

He faced Viggo and shouted, "I'm not ready to talk to them yet." 

The phone stopped ringing. 

"Then when? Give me a date, give me something that I can tell them so they don't think I have you locked up in here keeping you my prisoner." 

As soon as the words left his mouth he regretted them. He watched as Orlando's face turned to stone. 

"Christ Orlando I'm sorry I didn't mean that." Viggo stepped towards him but he moved away from him too quickly. Turning his back to Viggo he just stood and stared out the window. 

Viggo just stood there, not taking another step towards him, "they love you, they want to see you. They need to see you Orlando, this…this ordeal has been hard on them too." 

"That's funny, I haven't seen their faces smashed across the TV screen. I' ve yet to hear their names shouted out of the radio every fucking time I turn it on." He turned around and faced Viggo again, his eyes were shining from unshed tears. "I am a prisoner, I can't even leave the house without reporters chasing after me." 

Viggo nodded, "I know, I'm sorry about that. I don't know how they found out where you were." About a week after they'd found Orli the reporters had started to sit out at the end of the drive-way. As soon as they left they followed them to the clinic, they'd been asking questions at the clinic too, but luckily Dr. Connors staff got rid of them. Thank God the stretch of beach behind the house was private, a few had tried to make their way up the beach but the private security had driven them off or had them arrested. 

"I thought I'd be safe here, I thought…I thought you wanted me here." 

Viggo reached out and laid his palm along Orli's jaw line, "don't ever think that I don't want you here. I do." 

"I want to believe that, I really do. But I also realize that I make you angry. I know I do, but I can't seem to help it." The tears couldn't be held back any longer. "I don't want you think you have to let me stay here because of what happened. I don't…" 

"You know that's not why, hell, if I didn't want you here I would have left you return to England with your mom. But as I told her when she was here, I think it's better for you here than it would be there. Ian said the reporters were going nuts over there." 

Orlando suddenly turned away again. "You don't think I realize that. They broke into my mother's house Vig. They're crawling in the windows for crikey's sake. It was bad here, I don't know how the hell she's dealing with it at home." 

"You spoke to your mom, she's doing fine. She said it's getting better." Viggo moved closer to him, moving cautiously he reached up and wrapped his arms around Orlando. "They'll be gone soon. They'll move on to the next big story and you won't have to worry about them anymore." 

The shoulders pressed against Viggo's chest started to shake. "I didn't want to be the last big story. I just want everything to go…" 

Viggo pulled him closer and gently rocked him back and forth, he spoke again when he realized Orli wasn't going to finish whatever it was he was going to say. "I know baby, I know." 

After a few minutes he pressed his lips against the back of Orli's head and said, "Dinner's almost ready, why don't you go wash up. I'll set the table." 

Orlando nodded and moved off towards the bathroom. 

******

Viggo walked to the couch and picked up the phone, hitting one of the speed dial numbers as he moved out onto the deck, he waited for it to be picked up. 

"Beanie, it's Vig. Yeah I know, I thought he'd pick it up if it rang enough times. Thanks anyway. No, it just ended in him getting upset again. I don 't know what I'm going to do. No, Henry's not coming, I didn't want him here with the reporters hanging around. Yeah, I have your flight number written down, I'll be there. No, you aren't staying at a hotel, here will be fine. Well, he'll just have to get used to it. I'm not letting him lock himself away in this house, this isn't helping him. Okay, I'll see you in two days. Bye." 

Entering the house again he walked into the kitchen and started setting the table. When the oven timer went off he removed the bread and placed it on a plate he'd sat in the middle of the table. 

Grabbing two plates he filled them with the pasta, poured sauce over them, then he placed those on the table. He looked up as Orli came back into the kitchen. 

"Hungry?" Viggo asked. 

Orlando nodded and took a seat. 

"So did you get anything done today?" Viggo asked him as he joined him at the table. 

About two weeks before Orli had taken over half of Vig's studio and started sculpting again. He hadn't worked on anything in close to two years, Viggo had taken that as a good sign. He'd helped him clear half the room when Orli had first brought up the fact that he thought he'd like to get back into it again. Maybe if Orli could work out some of his anger and emotions on clay it would help him. 

Orlando shrugged his shoulders, "A little. It's not as easy as I thought it was going to be. Nothing's turning out the way I want it too. I have an idea in my head but it doesn't seem like my fingers know what I'm doing yet." 

With a mouth full of pasta Viggo nodded, he finished chewing and swallowed, "I understand that, happens with my paints. The picture is finished in my head but the brush ends up doing something else entirely different, sometimes I just let the brush go, sometimes it's a better painter than I am." 

Grabbing a slice of bread Orlando broke it in half and handed the other half to Viggo. "So you're saying maybe I should just go with what the clay wants?" 

Viggo smiled, Orli had broken the bread without even thinking about it, they 'd always shared their bread like that, this was the first time in two months that Orli had done it. "Yeah, sometimes that's all you can do." 

"But what if…" 

A loud knocking on the door suddenly interrupted their meal. Orli dropped the bread, standing he backed away from the table. Without a word he turned and headed up the steps towards the bedroom. 

"I guess I'll get that." Viggo mumbled, wiping his month on a napkin he threw it on the table and headed towards the door. 

Looking through the peephole he saw the hobbits standing on his front porch. Opening the door he prepared himself to tell another lie again. He never got the chance. Another body came swinging around the doorframe pushing his way into the house, the hobbits just stood there staring. 

"'Ello old chap." Viggo was surprised as Andre Schneider smacked his hand against his back and walked into the living room. "So where is the cunt anyway. Still hiding from everyone?" 

"Atti, when did you get here?" Viggo asked, he wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing. Atti knew Orli better than anyone else, but he wasn't sure if Orli was up to this yet. He eyed the other men as they came into the house. 

Sean Astin was the first to speak, "We weren't given a choice, we were shanghaied." 

"We tried to explain to him that Orli…Orlando doesn't want company yet, but he didn't lis…" Elijah tried to explain to the older man. 

"What the hell is up with this Orlando crap," Atti snapped, turning his back on them he yelled, "OB get your goddamn ass out here, right now. Front and center you bastard, don't make me come and get you." 

"Atti, stop it." Viggo moved towards the man, "I told you on the phone…" 

Atti turned and glared at Viggo, "yeY, I got it old man, he wants to hide and you're going to let him. Well I'm not." With that he turned and ran up the steps, yelling out Orlando's nickname. 

"OB, come out come out where ever you are." 

Viggo headed towards the steps, Elijah grabbed his arm, "let him go." 

"Are you sure about this Elijah, cause what if he…" Viggo never got to finish. 

"Maybe Atti can get him to stop hiding, lets just see what happens." 

Viggo nodded and turned back towards the kitchen. "Anybody hungry, I have Fettuccini Alfredo on the table. Help yourselves." 

"I'm always up for food." Dom said as he followed Viggo into the kitchen. They stood and ate, asking how Orli was, Viggo told them about the phone incident with Sean Bean earlier, he kept one ear on the staircase. 

"Well look who's decided to join the land of the living." 

Viggo turned, he was surprised to see Atti leading Orli into the living room. He watched as Orli threw himself into the first chair he came to, crossing his arms across his chest he stared at the floor. 

"Well, maybe not the living yet, but he's here…ta da!" Atti waved his arms at Orlando dramatically. 

"Got any alcohol around here old chap?" Atti said as he entered the kitchen and started to open cupboard doors. 

Viggo stepped to the fridge and pulled out a bottle and handed it to Atti. 

"Molson's, ugh, American Beer, what the hell, it'll do." Twisting the cap off he pitched it at Viggo, whispering, "wish me luck" he walked into the living room pushing the hobbits in front of him, plates and all. 

"It's Canadian beer," Viggo said as he left the room. 

"Everyone have a seat, I'd like to introduce you to a good mate of mine. Orlando Bloom, I'd like you to meet Elijah Wood, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, and Sean Astin, they're also good friends of mine and I thought you all should meet. I think you'll have a lot in common. Acting, drinking, pissing around, shagging, you know lots of things to talk about." 

Orlando said nothing, he kept his eyes glued to the floor. 

"No, you don't want to meet my friends. Okay, now you've hurt my feelings." Atti moved to the large ottoman directly in front of Orlando, taking a seat he kicked the other man's feet out of the way. "'Scuse me, coming through here mate." 

Vig stood at the sink. He would stay right here and let Atti play this out, nothing else had worked so far, so maybe, just maybe Atti could get through to him. But if Atti went overboard Viggo wanted to make sure he was close enough to throw his fucking ass out of the house. 

"Are you sulking, are we all pouty face? No, that can't be, because I'm the only bloke here who's allowed to sulk. You don't get too. So OB tell me everything, what's been going on in your life, it's been what, four, five months since we've seen each other. What's up with you?" 

Silence filled the room. No one spoke, no one moved, plates were forgotten. 

"You've been living in Hollywood for what now, four months. Come on you can tell me. Living the high life right? Clubbing and partying all night long? Big movies being made? How many stars you shag so far?" 

Nothing. Orlando shifted to the side, he reached underneath of his leg and pulled his notebook out and laid it across his lap. 

"What's this then," reaching out Atti grabbed the notebook. 

"Give that to me." Orlando sneered, he tried to grab the book back. 

Atti's eyes scanned the cover. "My Journal. What's this, the git is keeping a diary." He turned to the others and raised his eyebrows. "Now we get the dirt, betcha it's filled with names and phone numbers, do we get fucking highlights, all the facts on where you touched her, where you blew him, is that it OB, all your conquests in here." 

Orlando stopped trying to pry the book out of Atti's hand, sitting back he once again crossed his arms and looked away. 

Opening the cover Atti made a huffing noise. "What's this, there's nothing written here, not a thing, just your name and the date. Are you trying to tell me the great and powerful Orlando Bloom has been living in Tinsel town for all these months and you haven't shagged one star yet? Not a one. I find that hard to believe." 

Jumping off his seat Atti swung in a circle, book in one hand, beer in the other. "Can you believe this chaps, OB here hasn't got one thing written down here. Tsk…tsk, this can't be. This isn't the man I raised, this can't be the hell-raiser that I taught everything I know, oh no." 

Viggo's hands were clenched into fist. His feet moved towards the living room, enough was enough. 

"What the hell do you want from me Atti? What the fuck do you think this is going to accomplish?" 

"Atti, maybe you should…" 

"Shut-up Lij." Atti didn't even look at him when he spoke. 

"What the fuck do I want from you? This. I want you to yell, scream, hell hit me if you want. I want emotion, I want anger, I want crying. Anything. Anything as long as you're not upstairs hiding out in that fucking bedroom. That's what I want." 

And then he laughed, he laughed out loud, laughed really hard. 

Everyone just sat there staring at him. 

And then Orlando laughed. Not as loud as Atti, but he was laughing. 

Viggo moved to the door and just stared at Orli. Orli had moved from the chair and was standing a few feet in front of Atti. Laughing. It's the first time he'd heard him laugh in over two months. 

Atti threw the book down onto the table, he shoved his beer at Dom, who reached up and grabbed it without even thinking. Moving as close as possible to Orli he laughed even louder. 

The next moment they were in each other's arms, hugging and squeezing each other till they could barely breathe. The laughter slowly died until the room was silent. Atti suddenly moved his hands up to Orli's face. Grasping his cheeks firmly he leaned back and looked at his friend. With a huge smile on his face he gently said, "I knew you were still in there somewhere." 

Orlando just shook his head back and forth, when he spoke it was barely a whisper, "Atti." 

Atti smiled, "So are you going to say hello to your other friends, I mean we don't want them getting jealous or anything do we." 

Orlando nodded his head. With a sniff he looked down at the four men on the sofa. "Hello…I missed you. I missed you all." 

Viggo stood in the doorway and watched as the six men all suddenly came together in one massive hug. Voices spoke overtop voices, he couldn't make out any clear sentences. 

Atti squeezed his way out of the large lump and looked at Viggo, smiling he threw the older man a kiss. Viggo mouthed "Thank you," back at him. 

******

"Viggo!"   
Sean Bean watched Viggo's head swing his way and knew he had been spotted. He started to move towards him and within seconds his arms were wrapped tightly around his friend. 

"It's so good to see you Beanie." 

"It's good to see you too." Sean told him as he hugged him back. "I just wish it could have been under better circumstances." 

Viggo dropped his arms and moved back a step. Bending over he picked up the suitcase sitting at his friend's feet. "Yeah, so do I Sean, so do I." 

They started moving towards the exit. "How's he doing?" Sean asked. He could see the strain on the other's man face. 

"Let's get to the car, we can talk there." 

They moved through the airport, up the escalator, across the main drive towards the underground parking garage. Unlocking the doors with his automatic key ring Viggo placed both the suitcase and Sean's carry-on into the backseat of the jeep. Both men took their seats in the vehicle but Viggo made no move to start the engine. 

"You look tired." Sean said as he wrapped his fingers around the back of Viggo's neck. Viggo closed his eyes, and he smiled slightly. 

"I am. I feel like I've aged ten years in the last two months." When Sean pulled his hand away from his neck Viggo reached up and ran his fingers through his long blond hair. "It's a bit better, but…hell, maybe it's not better, maybe I'm just telling myself that so I can feel better. Who the fuck knows anymore." 

"Well, that's what I'm here for, you can tell me all about it. We really couldn't talk about everything on the phone. I'm here now, you can't fool me now, I can read your face like a book. And your face is telling me you need to talk." 

"Where do I begin…his mom came and stayed with us for two weeks. She spent a lot of time with him, just the two of them. He didn't talk much she said, but she understood he was hurting and she would get upset because she didn't know what to do or say. She told me she was glad he was staying with me, even though she wanted to take him back to England with her she knew he'd be safe with me. But she couldn't stay and watch him the way he was. I never will understand that, if this was Henry you couldn't pry me away from him. Don't misunderstand me, I've always gotten the feeling that they do love each other, they're just not the kind of people who show it, know what I mean?" 

Sean nodded and let him go on. He realized that he'd been right, Viggo needed someone to talk to just as much as Orli did. 

"Sometimes its hard for me to picture Orli growing up with her, she's so quiet and laidback and he's like a tornado, you never know where he's gonna be next. It's just hard to picture them as a family." 

"You had said on the phone that he wasn't talking much, has that changed?" 

"He's doing better, he's actually spending time with the others now. For a while I didn't think he was ever going to do that. Astin was helping, he'd come over and just sit and talk with him for a few hours everyday, just to give me some time to sleep or run a few errands. But Orli didn't talk back, he'd just sit there and listen, if Sean asked him anything he's just ignore him. Every time Elijah or one of the others called or would stop by he'd come up with one excuse after another to get out of it. He was sick, he was tired. Hell, one day the phone rang and he actually told me to tell Atti that he'd gone out. Atti isn't stupid, as soon as I said it he knew Orli was there, and he knew he was hiding from him. He said he'd let him hide for now, but sooner or later he was coming over here to kick his ass. Anyone else and that would have pissed me off, but knowing Atti I thought he didn't mean it. But anyway, that went on for about four weeks. Then finally about two days ago, right after I talked to you, Atti did show up, he went straight to the hobbits, packed 'em up in their cars and brought them to my house. Stormed right in and dragged Orli's ass out of the bedroom. It was a bit tense at first, Orli would just sit there, not looking at anything, not talking to anyone." 

"Just hearing about that boy from Orli makes me think that he probably did kick his ass." Sean smiled. He understood that Atti probably knew Orli better than any of them, well maybe except for Viggo. If anyone could get through to the boy it would be Atti. "Is that what he did? Although I can' t image you standing by and bloody well letting that happen." 

"You should have seen it, everyone was just sitting there staring at each other, nobody was saying anything. I guess Atti had had enough, he took control. He spoke directly to Orli, he put on one hell of a show too, he didn't bring up that night at all and if Orli didn't answer him he'd just ask him another question over and over again. I couldn't see it, but I knew Orli was getting mad, really mad. Sean told me later that Orli had stopped looking at the floor and started glaring at Atti, his lips were pressed together and his eyes actually started to glow, he said he expected to see smoke coming out his ears. But just when I was ready to throw Atti's ass out of the house Orli stood up and started yelling back at him, asking him what the fuck he wanted from him, who the hell did he think he was, stuff like that. I was so shocked to actually see him showing any kind of emotion I couldn't move. I was frozen to the fucking floor. But then Atti started laughing, he got right up into Orli's face and laughed. At first Orli just stood there staring at him. The next thing I knew they were both laughing their asses off, then they were in each others arms, hugging each other. Then I saw Orli shaking…hell, I thought he was crying, but he wasn't, he was still laughing, actually laughing out loud. It was the first laugh I'd heard out of him since that night. Atti just leaned back and grabbed him by the face and said 'I knew you were in there somewhere'. After that we'd see more and more reactions from him. He's still not the same boy I remember, but he is carrying on conversations with others. And he's more relaxed around the other guys and Liv now, he's not as jumpy as he was. Hell, last night I walked in and found all of them sitting on the sofa together, watching TV. It reminded me of New Zealand, all these arms and legs sticking out all over, couldn't tell where one started and another one ended. It was great." 

"But…?" Sean had never heard Viggo talk so much at one time before. But he could still hear what Viggo wasn't saying. "How's he when it's just the two of you?" 

Viggo turned and leaned his head back against the window. "You know, I think you and Ian share a fucking brain. He asked me the exact same thing." 

The hands were being dragged through his hair again, "You know I get to see him react to them, deal with them one on one or with the whole group. And I 'm glad, I really am glad to see him making progress, but when it's just him and I…" 

"What? How is he, come on Vig, let it out." Sean pushed him a bit, he knew his friend wasn't one to spill his guts about personal stuff, but he knew that Viggo needed this. 

"He's like a child, he waits for me…he waits for me to tell him what to do, and if he wants to do it he does, but if he doesn't…well then he cries a lot, begging me not to make him do things." 

Sean could hear the pain in Viggo's voice, he knew Viggo couldn't keep the tears back, all the pain, all the hurt just came pushing out of him. 

"Make him do what?" Sean gently asked him. 

"I made him see a shrink, he hated it, he'd come home and he wouldn't talk to me, he'd head right for the bedroom and go back to hiding again. Each and every fucking time I had to argue with him to go, plead with him, and he finally would, but he hated me for it, I could tell." 

"He doesn't hate you Vig, he might be angry but you have got to expect that from him. He's been through one hell of mess and he probably feels lost, you told me on the phone that you didn't understand why this had to happen, well look at it from his point of view. It happened to him and he doesn't understand it anymore than you do." 

"I know that, but it still hurts, he's slowly coming out of whatever hell he 's been in but not with me. With me it's the same thing over and over again." He shook his head, "I don't think I'm helping him at all. I feel so fucking useless." 

"Now that's bullshit if I every heard it. Ian told me that when he talked to him on the phone yesterday that all he talked about was you. You can't really believe that you're not helping him. Ian thinks you're the only thing holding him together."

"I wish I could believe that, but you'll see, with you staying at the house you'll be able to see everything that I told you is true. He's opening back up to the world, but not with me, it's like he's…I don't know. I'm just so fucking tired. I want to see him acting like his old self. And now, this Dr. Connor, the psychiatrist that's he's been seeing, she won't tell me anything. Said I'm not family. I tried to explain our relationship to her, but I got this funny feeling while on the phone with her, that she didn't exactly approve of me. She just told me that I shouldn't be making demands on Orlando at this time. Demands. What the hell does she think I do, try to force myself on him?"

"What do you mean she doesn't approve of you?" Sean asked him, he didn't understand what Viggo was saying. 

"I think she's a bit homophobic. I'm thinking of talking to Orli about getting another doctor, she doesn't seem to be helping him at all. I mean shit, Atti got a better response out of him then she ever has. And get this, when I asked her about this Orlando thing she wouldn't say one word, just kept saying over and over again she couldn't break the doctor/patient confidence." 

"What Orlando thing, I don't understand?" Confusion was laced through his voice. 

"Oh, that's right I didn't tell you about that. Orli doesn't want to be called Orli, he wants to be called Orlando. I don't understand it either, Ian asked a friend of his, she works in mental health or something, well, he asked her about it and she said something about it being a defense mechanism, separating himself from the part that actually lived through the rape. It's like he's made himself two different people, Orli was a rape victim, Orlando isn't. He has the memories but it wasn't actually him who was raped. She also said since he wasn't her patient it was only speculation. Does that make sense to you, cause it sure as hell doesn't to me." 

"Vig, nothing about the past two months makes any sense to me." Sean took a deep breath, he'd known this man for too many years not to know that there was more. "What about sex…you know, is he sleeping with you?" 

"Sleeping, yes, having sex? No." Viggo turned his head, looking directly into Sean's eyes he sighed. "That's the worst of it I think. We're in the same bed each night but it's like he's not there. The closest he lets me get to him is to just hold him. No, it's not what he lets me do, it's what I let myself do. I'm afraid Beanie, I'm afraid to touch him. Afraid that I 'll make him remember something. I'm afraid that he might mistake me for that bastard and be more afraid of me than he is now." 

Sean placed his hand back on Viggo's neck, he gently squeezed. "Have you talked to Orli about that?" 

Viggo suddenly shook his head back and forth, "Hell no, I wouldn't even have a clue on how to bring it up." 

"I think you ought to talk to someone about it. Get yourself a doctor to talk to, someone who knows how to deal with this type of thing." 

"Yeah, the left side of the brain tells me that but the right side is so fucking scared to even think about doing it." Viggo smiled, "I'm glad you' re here Sean." 

"So am I my friend, so am I. Is there anything else I should know about before we get to your house?" Sean asked him as he buckled his seat belt. 

"Just one more thing, don't close any doors inside the house unless you're in the bathroom. And if Orli's in there and you see the door's open don't close it. He doesn't like closed doors. Ian's friend said it might be related to being locked up in that room, that Orli doesn't want to have that closed in feeling." Viggo strapped himself in and turned the engine over. "Oh but guess what?" 

"What?" 

"He's sculpting again, he's been spending a lot of time in our studio room. He dug his stuff out of storage and had me help him set it up. He's done a few things, abstract mostly I think, I haven't gotten a good look at any of them yet." Viggo pulled out of the parking space and drove towards the exit. 

"Wow, it's been what, a year or two since he's last worked at anything?" 

"Yeah, at least one good thing has come out of this nightmare. I've always tried to tell him how good he was, but he wouldn't believe me. He always laughed it off like he was some kid in art class in second grade. I've never understood that." 

"It's going to be good to see everyone again, are we going to do dinner while I'm here, get all the hobbits, elves and humans together?" 

Viggo nodded, "Yes, the hobbits are at the house now, Liv will show up later tonight, she has a photo shoot this afternoon. Ian is probably already at the house, he got in this morning. Orli was really looking forward to seeing him." 

Sean laughed, "No John once again I take it." 

"No, but maybe he'll send his stunt double." Viggo laughed.


	8. Chapter 8

"I don't know, I think it looks like two dolphins." Lij said. 

"Dolphins, where the hell do you see two dolphins? It's a man and a woman dancing, can't you tell?" Dom told him, he couldn't believe that Lij couldn 't see it. 

"It's neither." Orlando said as he threw a paint-splattered sheet over his work. "Neither one of you have a single artistic cell in your bodies. Get the hell away from my work." 

"What is it then?" Lij asked him. 

"It's not finished, that's what it is. Get out." Orlando shooed them towards the door. Closing it behind them they moved into the living room. 

Can someone get the door, somebody's knocking." Billy yelled from the kitchen. 

Sean Astin came out of the kitchen, raising his hands in front of him he looked at Orli, "I'll get it, you want me to wait till you're in the kitchen?" 

Orlando shook his head, "No, go ahead. He stayed standing behind Lij and Dom. He figured it was Liv or Ian, but just in case it was a reporter or a stranger he wanted someone between him and the door. 

"It's Liv, and she's got alcohol." Sean yelled after looking through the hole in the door. 

"Alcohol is good, let her in." Dom yelled. 

"I'd let her in either way dweeb." Sean told him. Opening the door he removed one of the large bags out of Liv's arms. 

"How the fuck did you know I have alcohol?" Liv questioned him, moving towards the kitchen, setting the other bag on the table she leaned up and kissed Orli on the cheek. "Miss me sweetie?" 

"Always," he replied, "How did the shoot go?" 

"I was breathtakingly beautiful of course." Turning towards Sean A. again she questioned him, "And how the hell did you know I had alcohol? And where the hell is your wife? I don't want to be the only hormonal creature in the room." 

Billy answered her, "We learned how to sniff it out in New Zealand, it's a Kiwi thing." 

"My wife is at her mother's, it's her mom's birthday, I'm supposed to be there too, but I told her my family needed me here, she agreed." Sean told Liv as he removed the beer from the bag. 

"Is Ian here yet?" She asked the group. 

"Nope, he's doing a signing at some bookstore, he should be here in about an hour. And before you ask, no, Viggo and Beanie aren't here yet either, they 're picking up the table and chairs." Elijah said as he helped Sean put the beer in the fridge. "Princess, these aren't even cold, why didn't you get the cold ones?" 

"Cause the warm ones are cheaper. You buy, you get cold, I buy, you get warm. We have a refrigerator, who the fuck cares." 

"I don't, but the American's do, they can't drink warm beer you cunt." Atti said as he came into the kitchen. "See my boys, never ever send a woman to do a man's job. Never." 

"Bite me Atti." Liv said with a smile. 

"Hell no, I am not biting you," Atti returned, "you fuck a Yorkshire man, you don't know where those blokes have been." 

"Hey, this isn't right, Viggo said this should be thick, it's not, it's all runny and in big globs." Billy was trying to keep the food going, but he wasn't doing such a good job. 

"Add flour." Liv said as she took Orlando's hand and drew him towards the deck doors. "Flour will thicken everything, at least that's what my step mom says." 

"Flour?" Billy said. "Where's the flour?" 

"You can't add flour, it's a fruit sauce, you'll ruin it." Dom told him, "Move, let me in there." 

****** 

"Where are we going?" Orlando asked her as she pulled him along the deck, slipping her sandals off she ran down the steps and out onto the sand. 

"To the waters edge. I want to talk to you about something. And I don't want the others to hear." 

"Oui, secrets. I like secrets." Orlando giggled. 

Liv dropped to the sand, pulling the skirt of her long sundress down over her thighs she yanked Orlando down to sit in front of her. 

"No, you won't like this secret." She told him, she had a serious expression on her face. 

"What's up Princess?" Orlando said using the familiar nickname they had for her. 

"I know you don't want to talk about what happened to you," When Orli automatically dropped his chin to his chest as soon as the words left her mouth she reached out and drew his face back up until she could look into his eyes. "But you don't have to talk, I'm gonna do the talking, you're going to listen okay?" 

He nodded his head. 

"When I was twelve my mother divorced my dad, at least the guy who I thought was my dad. Anyway, she spent a lot of time bringing home these assholes, real losers, know what I mean? She spent most of her time strung so far out on heroin that she didn't know what she was doing half the time. And she never knew what I was doing. If we hadn't had a full time staff, housekeeper, maids, and all that I wouldn't even have been fed half the time. But anyway, when I was twelve she brought home this guy named Jimmy. Jimmy played guitar for some flaked out punk rock band that never did make it anywhere. There were nights that she'd go out and leave him passed out on the sofa or in bed, wherever he'd been when he came down from the drugs. Well one night I was home alone, well not alone, Jimmy was there. Halfway through the night he decided that since my mom wasn't home and he didn't want to sleep alone he'd come crawling into my bed. And he hurt me. He did things to me that I didn't understand, couldn't understand. And I had no way of knowing that it wasn't right, know what I mean. I thought at the time that all little girls had their mother's boyfriends crawling into their beds and touching them. Hurting them. I thought it was normal. It went on until I was fourteen, and my mother, she never even got a clue about it. Not even when she sobered up years later." 

"Livie." 

"No, don't say anything, just let me get it out okay. I've only ever told one other person about this. I never talked about it with my family, never, not my mom, nor my dads. I couldn't. But I wanted to let you know that I know what you're going through. I know it's not the same, he didn't kidnap me, I knew where I was, and I never thought he was going to kill me or anything like that." 

"But you were only twelve, and you were in your bedroom, in your own house. You're supposed to be safe in your house." She watched as Orli's eyes filled with tears. 

"Oh baby, don't cry for me. I'm fine, I'm okay. But I wasn't for a long time. For years, I just kept it all inside of me. I used to sit in my room at night and cry. And I used to get really angry with my family, throw things around, scream and yell. Like you do with Viggo." 

Orlando wrapped his hands around his head and twisted his hair with his fingers. Liv had been there yesterday when he'd blown up at Viggo for some stupid fucking reason, hell it hadn't even been Viggo's fault. "I don't want to yell at Viggo, I don't know why I do, just sometimes I can't control it." 

"I know, and I know why you yell at him. It's because you love him," she slowly reached up and unwrapped his fingers from his hair, clasping their fingers together she pulled his hands into her lap. "You're waiting for him to make it all better, to make it all go away. And he can't Orli. He can't because he loves you just as much and he's just as lost as you are. He's hurting too. You have to talk to someone about this anger." 

He shook his head back and forth, "He doesn't love me." 

"Yes, he does…" 

"No, he thinks I'm just a kid, he doesn't even think about what we have as a relationship, I know that, but we've always had the…we've always had sex before, but now that's gone too." 

"What does your doctor say about all this?" Liv asked him. 

"I've never told her, she doesn't care what I think. Hell, I don't even think she likes me." 

"Then get another one. Call around and get another one, and if you don't like that one, try again. Hell, I went through two therapists until I found one I was comfortable with. Just because she's the first one you went to doesn't mean she's the one for you. Listen to me, don't hate me, but I talked to Detective Matthews today." 

"About what?" Orlando asked, he hadn't like talking to the woman the few times he'd had to meet with her, but she had seemed like a nice person. 

"There's this therapy group. It's made up of five of the other victims. The sixth guy was a student at UCLA, he went back home, but the other five guys, they meet with a certified therapist at a local clinic. Cynthia Matthews says she can get you in, no problem. She's gone to a few of the meetings herself, she says that this therapist, his name is Mark Bakker by the way, she said he's really good with them, puts them at ease, he got them talking to him fairly quickly because he really cares about how they feel. And the best part is their families meet with them. Not in every group, the group itself meets on Tuesday, on Thursday nights the families attend. I think you should go and I think you should take Viggo with you." 

"I don't know, I don't know if I can sit in a room with a bunch of people and they'll all know what happened to me." 

"What difference will it make, they'll know because it happened to them too. They'll know exactly what you're feeling, what you're talking about. Just think about it okay. I don't want you ending up like me." 

He smiled at her. "I think you ended up pretty good." 

"Now I am, but Orli…" She reached down and grabbed the skirt of her sundress, he watched as she pulled it up until he could see her tiny pink panties. The moonlight reflected off her thighs as she came up onto her knees, he saw what he couldn't see before, about an inch below the bottom of her panties were scars, long silvery etchings that ran across the tops of her legs. They were hidden in the creases of her thighs. 

"Oh Livie," reaching out he drew his fingertip along each one. Looking up into her face he could see the tears forming in her eyes. 

Dropping her dress she sunk back down unto the cold sand. "I don't want you hurting as long as I did. I love you too much, and so does everyone else." 

"Why Livie?" 

"It's what girls do, the therapist said it's very rare for boys to do it, it 's the girls who start cutting. It's the only way I could feel anything. I felt so dead inside, but when I would cut myself I could feel. It hurt, sometimes it hurt really bad, but at least I could feel something. And that night, in the hospital when you came out into the hallway, you reminded me of myself all those years ago, and I don't want you to end up like me. My scars are on the outside, yours are all bottled up inside of you, you have to let them out, somehow, you have to let them out." 

"I don't know, it hurts so much some times." He told her. 

"And that's exactly why you have to talk to someone about it." She smiled, "And as for the sex thing. Have you tried seducing Viggo? You never know, maybe he's just as frightened as you are. Maybe he needs you to take the first step." 

Orlando slowly shook his head, "I don't know if I could. I don't think he wants me anymore, not like that." 

"I know Viggo still wants you. A man doesn't drag you home and take care of you the way he does, he doesn't put up with the kind of shit you give him because he doesn't love you. Seduce him, just try it. I was scared to death the first time I made love with someone that I had chosen, but my therapist, he told me that if I never tried how was I supposed to know. So I tried, and I liked it." She laughed out loud with her last statement. "I think you will too." 

"Seduce Vig, that's not something I've ever had to think about. Most of the time our foreplay consisted of me just looking at him." 

"I so did not need to know that. Don't tell me anymore, just think about calling Detective Matthews okay." Liv said. "Please, for me." 

He nodded, "I'll talk to Viggo about it, okay, see what he says." 

"Good enough, let's go before they drink all the booze." She stood and pulled him up next to her, they walked back up to the house hand in hand. 

****** 

Dinner was almost over, everyone was finishing up their dessert. Silverware was clinking, glasses being refilled.   
Orlando sat back and stared at the nine faces sitting around the large table that Viggo had rented for the occasion, they'd set it up in the living room. They'd pushed the furniture back against the walls to make room for it. He' d also rented enough chairs so that everyone would have a place to sit. 

He smiled. Sean had been right earlier, these people were his family, they didn't have the same blood, but they were family all the same. 

Atti spoke over the other voice and noises in the room. "Why that's a cheeky little smile you're wearing Bloom, what the hell's that all about?" 

Orlando shrugged his shoulders, "Just happy to be here, that's all." 

Ian raised his glass, "Well then, here's to being here. All of us being here." 

Glasses were raised, Viggo worried about his glassware as some of the clinks were louder than others. He suddenly felt fingers sliding under his as they rested on the tabletop. He looked over as Orli slid his fingers through his and squeezed gently. He smiled and squeezed back. 

"And I'm announcing right here and right now that I am not doing the dishes, and if I hear one word about 'woman's work' I swear to God I'll knife somebody." Liv said as she pushed her chair back, picking up her silverware and plate she headed towards the kitchen. "Oh look, Viggo has a dishwasher, I'm not loading it either, so don't even think about it." 

Not taking his eyes off Orlando, Viggo added, "And all these dishes aren't going to fit in one load, so somebody is going to have to wash some of them. Do not, I repeat do not even think about loading all of them in that thing." 

"But I thought since you're the host Viggo, well I though you'd do the washing up." Dom said. 

"Dom just volunteered to do the washing," Orlando said, eyes still on Viggo. 

"Well then it's only right that the other three hobbits do the drying, wouldn't you say Sean?" Ian said with a grin to Sean Bean. 

Grumbling could be heard as the other hobbits collected their eating utensils and headed for the kitchen. 

"Only right of course, that us old men can just sit here and supervise." Sean answered. Nodding at Viggo and Orli he added, "Maybe we should supervise from the kitchen, you know, just to make sure they do it right." 

Ian stood, carrying his plate and utensils, "Quite right, after all Merry and Pippin did a fine job at Bilbo's party under my supervision, wouldn't you say." 

"Alas, I was not invited to the party." Sean said with a pout. 

"That's right you were off getting the Horn of Gondor blown, weren't you?" Billy said from the kitchen. Laughter filled the house. 

"And your mother did a fine job Pippin, after all she was the right size." Sean said giving back just as good as the rest of them. 

"Want to take a walk old man?" Orlando asked Viggo. 

"A walk?" Viggo felt butterflies fluttering through his stomach, there was no mistaking the sensual tone of Orli's voice. 

"Yes, a walk. It's where you put one foot in front of the other," Orlando said with a smile. Standing he pulled Viggo up behind him and headed out through the open deck doors. 

******

They sat on the beach in the exact same spot that Liv and Orli had sat in a few hours earlier. They sat next to one another with their shoulders touching. Orli held Viggo's hand just letting it rest on his thigh. 

He had told Viggo about the therapy group. He was waiting to see what he thought about it. 

"And I'd get to go too?" Viggo asked. 

"Yes, Liv said on Thursdays the families attend." Orli told him. 

Viggo nodded, turning his head he looked into Orli's eyes. "Do you want me there?" 

"Of course I want you there, but what I want doesn't matter." He lowered his eyes to the sand. "If you don't want to go, if you aren't comfortable with it I'd understand." 

"Then I'll be there. Just tell me when and where." Viggo said. 

"Okay." 

Loud laughter could be heard coming from the open deck door. 

"They're probably up there destroying our house, you realize that don't you?" Viggo said as he turned to look at the house. "If we want a roof over our heads we should get back up there." 

They both stood at the same time. Viggo started to turn back towards the house but found his hand being tugged back towards Orlando. 

"Vig." 

Turning he smiled down at the beautiful face before him. "Yeah?" 

"Would you kiss me?" Orli quietly asked him. 

Viggo felt the butterflies again, telling himself not to cry he slowly lowered his head to Orli's. 

The butterflies were going crazy by the time their lips touched, softly pressing against each other they just let their lips slide gently back and forth for a moment. When Orli's mouth opened Viggo let his tongue slowly skim along his bottom lip. Orli deepened the kiss by stroking his tongue against Viggo's. When Viggo felt the other man's hands slip under his t-shirt and press against his lower back he wrapped his arms around him. Pulling him closer he leaned his hips against Orli's. He prepared himself; he waited to feel the younger man pull away. 

But he didn't, Orlando returned the caress by pressing his hips into Viggo. Viggo moved his left hand up to Orli's head and kissed him with everything he had. Tongues wrapped, pressed, twisted, lips nipped. Orlando bit down lightly on Viggo's bottom lip. Viggo moved his right hand up to Orli's face and laid his fingers across his cheek, he immediately felt the wetness. Pulling his head back he felt tears welling up in his eyes. 

"Don't cry baby please. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." 

Orlando smiled, "You didn't. It's like water." 

"What, what's like water?" Viggo asked him, he was scared, scared that he might have frightened him with his kiss, because Orli wasn't making any sense. 

"Your kiss, I feel like I'm been in the desert, and your kiss was like a sip of sparkling water from an oasis." 

"Oh God Orlando Bloom that had to be the crappiest, mushiest, least romantic sentence in the entire world." Viggo laughed, "But I loved every word of it." 

Orlando smiled, "Yeah it was crappy wasn't it. I'll have to get Atti to give me a better one."


	9. Chapter 9

"Shouldn't you be getting ready?" Viggo asked from the door. 

Orlando never even turned around to look at him, he continued staring at the clay in front of him. "I told you, I'm not going." 

Viggo dropped his head back and silently counted to ten, he only made it to five before Orlando came off the stool he'd been perched on. Grabbing a small bowl of water that was sitting on a table he turned back to the stool. 

"You know, I've been thinking, why don't you go. Just tell this Bakker guy all about me, you two can sit and chat to your fucking hearts content. Tell him all about the stupid, crazy asshole you live with." 

"Cause I'm saving it all up for Thursday appointments, if I use it all up now what the hell are we supposed to talk about then." Viggo snapped at him. 

"You're a real fucking comedian, you know that?" Orlando threw himself onto the stool and went back to staring at the clay in front of him. 

"You know Livie went through an awful lot to get you into this thing, is this how you're going to repay her?" Viggo turned away, two seconds later he turned back again, "You're going, I don't care what you say, you ARE going." 

A few minutes later Orlando heard a door slam somewhere in the house, he didn't care what Viggo said, he wasn't going to go. They couldn't make him. He'd been in a totally different frame of mind on Saturday night when he'd talked to Livie. After their talk he had spent the rest of the night thinking about everything she had said about Viggo. He'd invited him down to the beach, it had been so nice to sit and talk with him, and then the kiss, that sweet, beautiful kiss had happened. And the rest of the evening had been wonderful. Their friends had stayed until after two am, they'd played games, told rowdy, sometimes raunchy stories of New Zealand, and Atti had ended up biting Liv after all, right on the left ass cheek after telling him to bite her one more time for some slight he'd made, Atti wasn't someone you dared anything too. 

But then everyone had gone, this is what Orlando had been waiting for all night. Alone with Viggo. He was going to seduce Viggo. Right here, tonight. He'd been a little nervous at first, what would he do if Viggo refused him? But no, this was Viggo, he told himself to calm down and just do it. And he'd do it, just as soon as Beanie went off to the guest room. 

So he told Vig he was going to get ready for bed, smiling at him as he said it, just letting him know that there was more than just a kiss waiting for him tonight. 

He'd taken a quick shower, put on clean pants, then decided not to wear any, stripping them off he turned to crawl into bed and changed his mind. He'd wear the pants to bed, it would be easy to slip out of them later, but for some reason it made him less nervous to have them on. 

He laid back and waited for Vig, he pushed the blanket to the bottom of the bed, and pulled the sheet up over himself, but that didn't seem sexy enough to him, so he just tugged the sheet out from the bottom of the mattress and just arranged it seductively across his hips. And then decided he looked stupid with the sheet draped like that with his pants on, so he stripped off the boxers and pulled the sheet over his hips again. That lasted about two minutes, hanging off the edge of the bed he grabbed the boxers and slid them back on. 

He turned his head and noticed the clock radio, hitting the music button he turned the dial till he found an easy listening station. Something sweet and romantic whispered through the room and Orlando laid back and waited. He wiped his hand across his forehead and realized he was sweating. 

This is ridiculous, Orlando told himself to just calm down, you're acting like an idiot. Just breathe, slowly breathe, in and out, you can do this. This is Viggo, the man you love, just relax. 

It was the last thought he had, the next thing he remembered was waking up the next morning, alone. The space next to him was still warm from Vig's body heat. 

His plans to seduce Viggo hadn't happened. It turned out Viggo had sat up talking to Sean until almost four, by the time he'd made it to bed Orlando had been deep asleep. It just proved to him that Viggo didn't want him any longer. So he figured he didn't need to go talk to some doctor, it didn't matter anymore, not now. 

Another door slamming brought him back to the present to realize he'd wrapped his fingers around the clay so tightly that it was just a jagged mess. Slowly pulling his fingers out of the cold clay he started to reshape it. When he first started thinking about sculpturing again he'd been excited, he couldn't wait to get back to working at it. But no matter what he wanted to shape, no matter what ideas he had in his head the same shape came up time and time again. Lij had thought it was dolphins, Dom pictured two dancers, neither were correct. He knew what it was, down deep inside he knew what it was his hands were conceiving. It was the shape of two people, but they weren't dancing. It was two men, the beast with two backs. His own personal demon. 

He tried to tell himself it was Viggo, him and Viggo. But he knew it wasn' t. He knew who the two people were, but he couldn't say it, couldn't even imagine the words in his mind. 

He thought back to when he and Viggo had started going out. Back to the beginning, when he had first realized that he felt more than friendship for Vig. They'd been in New Zealand for almost a year. Tanya had been gone for two months by then, said she couldn't take not seeing her family and friends. He was on the set all day, sometimes all night and she had started whining and complaining about being alone, not having any friends. Orli had tried to introduce her to people, especially Christine, Sean Astin's wife, he thought they would be able to spend their time together. But she hadn't liked that idea, she thought Chris was too caught up with being a wife and mother, Tanya didn't want to spend her days talking about finger paints and toilet training. So she'd left. He felt lonely after she left but he knew he missed the sex more than he missed Tanya. 

He had noticed Viggo as soon as he had arrived on set, he had thought the man was gorgeous, Orli had always been attracted to loud and boisterous men, not shy quiet ones, but with Vig he'd felt drawn to him. His quietness intrigued Orli, he liked spending time with him, talking with him. Hell, even with Tanya there he still managed to have a few fantasies about the man. But he thought that's all it would ever be. And when Tanya had left he had still believed that, his radar for men who were into other men was pretty damn good, and he'd never gotten any of those vibes off of Vig. So he tucked it away in his little fantasy file and put it out of his mind. 

Until that night at their favorite pub. It was March 9, 2000; Orlando would never forget that night. Sean B. and Viggo had been playing pool for about an hour, Karl had stood watching. He and the hobbits and Ian were sharing a table near the dance floor. They were being obnoxiously loud as usual, when he realized his glass was empty he got up to go for another one. Vig was at the bar. He smiled at him and turning to the bartender had asked for a refill. 

Turning back to Viggo he had asked, "Are you winning or is Beanie thrashing your ass?" 

"Little bit of both. Getting drunk?" Viggo had smiled as he had said it. There'd been a few nights when he or one of the hobbits had to be carried out of that same pub. 

"No, not tonight, and anyway it's still too early to get drunk." 

Looking away from him Viggo had said, "Got any plans for later tonight?" 

"No, didn't plan to have the day off tomorrow, or I might have. At least the rain's good for something." Orli had laughed. Because of the weather Peter had changed the shooting schedule, instead of outdoor shots, he was gonna do blue screens with Lij and Sean A. tomorrow. 

"Want to do something together?" 

That question had stopped him cold. The tingling had started in his stomach and moved up to his throat quite rapidly. He actually amazed himself when he found his voice to answer him, "What do you want to do?" 

"Maybe take a walk, down to the beach." Viggo turned and finally faced Orli after he said it. 

Orli had laughed, "Vig it's raining fucking cats and dogs out there. We'd get soaked." 

"Just thought I'd ask." Grabbing the two beers the bartender placed in front of him Viggo turned to walk away. 

The thought entered Orli's head that if he didn't do this, he'd end up regretting it for the rest of his life. 

"Vig." 

Viggo turned back around trying not to spill the drinks. "Yeah?" 

He took a moment, swallowing he finally answered, "Yes, I'd like to take a walk with you. I'd like that a lot." 

They walked back to their respective groups, gave their excuses, and grabbed their jackets. Of course the hobbits couldn't let them get away without any comments. Dom had stood up and straightened Orli's collar and told him to be a good boy and play nice with the older gentleman. Billy had looked up at Viggo and gave him his best mother imitation, "And have our boy home by a reasonable hour, he's a good boy our Orli is. No funny stuff going on, you hear me, oh and wear protection...you know, your rubbers...it's raining out there." 

And there'd been no funny stuff that night, they'd driven out to the cabin that Sean and Viggo had been staying in, luckily the rain had slowed to a slight mist by then. Leaving their shoes in the car they had spent half the night walking up and down the beach talking about anything they could think of, acting, art, music, poetry, marriage, kids, and sex. 

Right in the middle of a conversation about bisexuality Viggo had leaned over and kissed him. Right on the mouth, at first Orli had been a bit surprised, and hadn't returned the kiss. But as Viggo started to pull away Orli leaned in, opened his mouth, and kissed Viggo back. 

And damn the man could kiss. It wasn't like any kiss that Orli had ever had before. Within a few seconds Viggo made him forget the rain, the cold wet sand, hell, even the beach. He'd never felt such unending pleasure before. 

When Viggo had lifted his head he had this funny little smile on his face. 

"What?" Orli had asked him. 

"I've wanted to do that for a long time." Viggo said, taking Orli's hand he turned and started walking again. 

Orli let him pull him along, it took him a good thirty seconds to realize that Viggo was talking again, almost as if the kiss had never happened. 

When they realized it was after midnight they had gone back to the cabin and sat and talked there for awhile. Viggo had told him he could stay there for the night if he wanted too and Orli had instantly thought that meant he'd be sleeping with Vig, but when Vig came walking into the living room with two pillows and a blanket he realized his mistake. Viggo was letting him sleep on the sofa. 

Then Viggo had walked up to him and lightly kissing him on the lips he said good night and walked away. Orli had stood there for a few minutes just trying to figure out what had just happened. That was twice that Viggo had knocked him for a loop and then just walked away, no explanations, no indications of sex at all. Orli wasn't used to that. Usually if that had happened with someone else Orli assumed they wanted sex. Not that he took everyone who kissed him to bed, but he assumed that's what they thought would happen. With Vig he had no bloody clue as to what the man was thinking. 

As he lay there in the dark he smiled to himself. He thought it was sweet what Vig had done. He felt like he'd been on an old-fashioned date, not the kind he usually went on, dinner, talking, and sex -- in that order. It had felt nice. 

But it wasn't nice two weeks later, they done the dinners, the movies, even gone out dancing once or twice. They'd done everything but the sex. And Orli was going crazy. They necked in the car, they necked on every sofa in Wellington, Orli's, Vig's, at the hobbit house, hell, they even necked in Barrie Osborne's bathroom at the Christmas party. But no sex. 

They'd agreed to keep work and dating separate, nothing was ever to happen while they were on set. And it didn't. But Orli was ready for something more. He'd never been with anyone like Viggo before. No one had ever brought him flowers before, or candy. And he loved it, loved every fucking minute of it. He'd taken so much ribbing from the hobbits that he was ready to kill all of them, but by then he just wanted to get Viggo into bed, any bed, that's all he thought about. 

He finally managed to work up enough nerve to talk to Ian about it one day, they were alone in one of the make-up trailers, Ian was finished with his make-up, he'd just wondered in because the coffee in his trailer was "God awful" as he said. Orli had gotten his wig and make-up on, all he needed were his contacts. 

"Ian, how do you get a man to take you to bed?" Orli had just thrown it out there, no build up or anything. 

In the processing of pouring coffee into his mug Ian said, "I usually adorn myself with chocolate, spread it all over and let hi…" 

"Ian, I'm serious. I'm gonna go bloody insane here, Viggo has done everything but that and if I don't get it soon I am going to murder someone." Orli had told him. 

"What do you mean by everything?" Ian had inquired. 

"We've been dating for two weeks now, we've eaten together, we've walked, we 've talked, we've recited poetry to each other, we've seen every movie that Wellington has to offer. We've partied with the hobbits, with the humans and with the elves. Now I want to make love." 

Ian had almost dropped his coffee mug. "Good Lord! It must be love. The Orlando Bloom I know has never referred to it as making love before, shagging or fucking are the only terms I've ever heard you use. This must be serious." 

Orli's froze in mid air, the contact laying in his palm forgotten. He looked up into his reflection in the mirror before him. "It is." 

He turned and looked at Ian. "It is serious. I've never felt this way about anyone before. I can't describe how I feel when I'm with him. It just feels…" 

"Right." Ian said with a smile. 

Orli blushed and returned the smile. "Yes, it feels right." 

"But you've done various other things, correct. Touching, tasting…" 

"No, that's what's so frustrating, we've necked. We're like a bunch of teenagers. We've touched a bit here and there, but nothing serious. And believe me, I've wanted too, but I'm starting to worry that Viggo doesn't want me like that." 

"I think you're being courted my young man." Ian smiled again, "I do believe that Viggo is waiting for just the right moment. How many other men or women have given you flowers, walked you home at night. Sat with you out on the sand for hours?" 

Orli groaned. "The guys told you about the flowers and all that other stuff didn't they. I told them to keep their bleeding mouths shut." 

"No, for once it wasn't the hobbits who told me. You're not the only member of this cast to ask for my advice." Ian told him. 

Orli's eyes had practically flown out of his head, pulling the small chair over he sat directly in front of the older man. "You mean Viggo don't you? Viggo talked to you about me…what did he say? Tell me Ian, come on I have to know." 

"No, I will not, and can not do that. If you have anything you want to ask about Viggo you must asked him yourself. And that is my advice to you my young elf. Ask and ye shall receive." And with that Ian got up and left the trailer. 

So two night later at Viggo's cabin, right in the middle of one of the most romantic dinners that Orli had ever eaten he'd worked up his courage, swallowed his pride and said, "Viggo would you make love to me?" 

Viggo had preceded to choke on his food. My God, I've killed him Orli had thought. 

"Here and now?" Viggo had managed to squeak out after he'd stopped coughing. 

Orli had smiled, placing both hands palm down on the table he pushed down a few times as if he was checking the sturdiness of it and said, "I'd prefer the bedroom, but if you want to try it here I'm game." 

But they hadn't tried it on the dining room table. Viggo had slowly gotten up, taken Orli by the hand and walked down the hall to his bedroom. Shutting the door he had preceded to make love to Orli. Not the hurried rushed kind that Orli had become used to, but sweet, slow, passionate love. They'd touched, tasted, petted, nipped, licked; everything that could be done by one human being to another. Orli had never been to the places that Viggo had taken him that night. 

Finally it came to the point where Orli didn't think he could take anymore, he had to have Viggo inside of him, and he had to have it now. 

He remembered begging those exact same words out loud. "Please Vig, please I need you. I need to feel you inside of me, now. Please." 

He'd watched as Viggo prepared him, lifted his hips up as Viggo slid a pillow under his bum, felt the cool lotion covered fingers pressing inside of him, watched as Viggo tore open the condom packet with his teeth. He could barely make out the words that came out of Viggo's mouth. 

"Orli, put it on me, please." 

He remembered moaning over and over again as he slid the condom on, "Yes, yes, now, please." 

He watched Viggo place his long legs over his shoulders, felt him pressing against him. Orli wasn't a stranger to anal sex, but it hurt a bit, not bad really, but enough to make him wince slightly. For just one mad moment he wondered if Viggo would fit, but he went slow, and finally he did fit, he filled him completely. 

"Oh God Viggo!" 

Viggo moaned in between gentle bites along Orli's neck, "Am I hurting you? I don't want to hurt you Orli." 

Orli shook his head back and forth, "No, doesn't hurt...hurt if you stop, please Vig." 

Viggo had remained still for what seemed like forever to Orli, but in just a few moments he finally started to move, slowly pulling out and pushing back in, he leaned over him and laid wet gentle kisses all along his face, neck and chest. He finally moved back up to his mouth. Lips clinging together, using his tongue in the same in and out movements as his lower body he brought Orli almost to completion, then he'd keep his hips still until Orli demanded he move again. Then he'd do it all over again. 

By the time Viggo wrapped his hand around Orli's stiff erection he knew there were tears coming from his eyes. He didn't care, all he cared about was feeling, feeling Viggo as he thrust inside of him, against him, feeling Viggo's fingers wrapped around his cock pumping him up and down. He wanted to keep his eyes open, wanted to watch Viggo as he came, wanted to see his eyes at that very important moment. But he couldn't, when it finally happened he couldn't keep them open, it was too intense, too powerful he couldn't have seen anything. By that time he was just feeling. There were no words to describe the feelings, the emotions that swept through his body that night. 

One moment he was flying and the next all he was aware of was Viggo's body wrapped tightly around his, he was laying on his back staring up into Viggo' s face, Viggo was on his side next to him, the sheet was pulled up over their sweaty bodies. 

"Are you okay Orli? You scared me there for a minute. I couldn't get you to answer me." Viggo reached up and brushed a tear off Orli's face. 

"I think so." He felt Viggo's lips lightly brush his. "I've never felt anything like that before." 

"So I take it you liked it?" Viggo asked, a smile on his lips. 

Orli wrapped his arms around Viggo's neck, pulling him down for another kiss he whispered, "For an old guy you're pretty damn good Vig." 

He remembered Beanie coming home and banging on the bedroom door, "I am not cleaning up that mess out there, so just forget it." 

He could still hear his voice, but then it registered in his mind that it wasn't Sean's voice from the past he was hearing, Sean was calling his name here, in the studio. 

"Orli…Orlando. You got a moment?" 

He was standing just inside the room. Orlando had never even heard him enter the room. 

"I'm trying to get a little work done here, can it wait till later?" Orlando told him, he never even looked up. 

"No, I don't think it can." Sean moved to stand facing him. "I think it's waited long enough don't you?" 

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Never taking his eyes off the clay he separated it into two equal halves, dipping his hands into the water he started to reshape one half of the clay. 

"Come off it, it's okay to put on your childish acts with Viggo but I'm not Vig. So why don't you give it up." 

"I still have no idea what you're talking about." He knew what Sean was talking about, but he wouldn't admit it, he couldn't. 

"What do you think is going to happen, you keep pushing him and you're gonna lose him, you do realize that don't you? The only reason he puts up with your tantrums is because he loves you." 

He hoped Sean didn't see the way his hands had jerked when he'd said that. And he wished people would stop saying it. He knew why they said it, they romanticized what he and Vig had, they made it out to be some kind of fucking fairy tale. But it wasn't. It was a very nice, sweet man taking care of someone he pitied. 

"But sooner or later that's not even going to be enough anymore. One day you're gonna scream one too many times, push him too far away and then he will leave. Is that what you want?" 

"Viggo's a grown man. If he doesn't want me here all he has to do is tell me. That's how it's always been with us." He rounded off the clay on the sides and started forcing it into a curve. He didn't even need his brain to tell him what to do anymore, his fingers automatically knew what to do. 

"But that's the point, he does want you here. He wants you here because he wants to keep you safe. It's because he loves you. He's hurting Orlando, he 's hurting because you're hurting. He isn't making you go to these sessions because he wants to punish you, or himself. He makes you go because he wants his lover back, the man he fell in love with. The man I saw at dinner the other night." 

Orlando pulled his hands from the warm clay and stepped away from the work table. Snatching up a small wooden spatula he started scraping the clay from his fingers. "He doesn't love me. You don't know what…" 

With a jerk he was suddenly swung around until he faced Sean, he could feel the tight grip the man had on his shoulders, he didn't even have time to react to the look of anger on the man's face. 

"I know you've been through hell. And every single one of us wishes we could change that for you, but we can't. But none of us more than Viggo. You just don't get it do you? You can't understand what this has done to Vig too. What you're doing to him. You weren't the only victim here. You think he just sat and waited for you to come home, you think he stood around and cracked jokes. No, he sat by that phone and put up with crap from almost every fucking reporter in this town. He never slept, not one night while you were gone. If it wouldn't have been for Fran he wouldn't have eaten either. Caffeine and nerves kept him going. And anger. I've never seen Vig show his anger, have you? We both know that when Vig gets pissed off he gets quiet, just sits and stews in his own emotions. But he got angry when you were taken, the hobbits told me all about it. He yelled and screamed at the police officials when they told him they couldn't do anythin g for hours. He punched holes in Lij's fucking walls." Sean paused for a second, he watched Orli's eyes filling up with tears. "And he cried Orli…he fucking sat in the dark and cried. I know, because I was the one on the other end of the bloody telephone when he cried. I'm the one he cried to." 

If Sean's hands hadn't been there to hold him up he would have fallen to his knees. He tried to take a deep breath but all that came out were sobs. His shoulders started to shake, unconsciously he leaned into the other man's body.   
Sean moved his hands from his shoulders, he placed them around the pale thin body. He directed Orli's head to his shoulder. Orlando's arms wrapped so tightly around Sean's body it almost hurt. 

"I don't know where you got this ridiculous idea that Vig doesn't love you. Hell, I've known for a long time, long before the two of you even got together. Christ, I think he fell in love with you the first time he saw you, even when you were with Tanya in New Zealand. We all knew, we saw it whenever he watched you, you could see it in his eyes. He would have just stood back and fantasized about you if I hadn't had enough of his brooding. I finally told him he either had to ask you out or I was moving out. Bloody hell, he bought this house Orlando because of you. The man loves you with every ounce of his being. Why can't you see that?" 

"He's never said…it. He's never told me he loves me." Orlando mumbled into Sean's shirt. 

Sean smiled, "Have you ever told him that you loved him?" 

Sean pulled Orli back from him a bit, he looked into his glassy eyes. 

"I've always been afraid too…what if it wasn't true, what if…if he really doesn't love me?" Orli whispered. He drew his sleeve across his face. 

"I wish there was a way I could make you believe it, some way to prove it to you, make you see it is true." Sean gently pushed the dark curly hair out of Orlando's eyes. He cocooned his hands around Orli's face, "Go see this guy, talk to him, tell him whatever the hell he wants to know. Get yourself better. Not just for you, but for Vig too. Please?" 

Orlando nodded his head, "Okay. Okay."


	10. Chapter 10

Orlando sat in the brown leather chair, his eyes searching the room around him. Books, hundreds of books everywhere, on shelves, on the desk, on chairs, floor, everywhere. Some looked like textbooks, he could make out some of the titles but nothing he recognized. Mixed in with the textbooks were copies of Calvin & Hobbs, crossword puzzle magazines, The Far Side, Peanuts, and even an old copy of Mad Magazine. He spied a Star Wars light saber leaning in a corner next to a child-sized foam golf club with Minnie Mouse on the handle. He turned and looked at the door, he had told the girl not to close it, but she had. 

Turning back to the desk he noticed a baseball on a small stand sitting in a place of honor on the front of the large desk. He reached over and picked it up. The name Nic Spieler was written across it. 

"Who the hell is Nic Spieler?" 

"He's a thirteen year old baseball wiz from the inner city league here in LA. Orlando Bloom I take it?" 

Orlando had never heard the door open. He realized that was happening a lot. He half stood out of the chair and took the hand stretched out towards him. 

"Mark Bakker, I'm the guy that's gonna tell you that you're really not crazy, aliens do exist. Sit, sit." The man moved behind the desk and opened one of the drawers; Orlando noticed he removed a small white bag. Leaning around in his chair he watched as the man moved behind him and took a seat on the small couch and opened the bag. 

"Goldfish?" The bag was extended towards him. Mark's other hand was making a twirling motion. 

He didn't know what he wanted so he made the same motion back hoping the man realized that he had no idea what he meant. 

"You're gonna have to turn around, I'm not comfortable talking to your back, we therapists like to see your eyes while gabbing at you. They're the windows of your soul and all that stuff." The man continued to munch on the small orange fish shaped crackers. 

Orlando swung the chair around and just sat and stared at the man. "Aren't I supposed to be on the sofa and you in the chair?" 

Mark shook his head, "No way, those chairs are really uncomfortable." 

Something the man said earlier clicked in Orlando's brain. 

"Aliens?" 

"Aren't you the alien abductee?" He picked up at large black leather bound notebook, opening it he scanned down the page. 

"Oh, that's at four o'clock. Okay. That's fine. I have time now I can fit you in. So Orlando, tell me what can I do for you?" 

"Didn't Detective Matthews call you?" What the hell was going on here, hadn't anybody told him he was coming. 

"Cyn, yeah she told me, but I like hearing it from you. Sometimes why you think you're here and the real reason you're here aren't always the same." 

Orlando shifted in the chair. He suddenly felt very warm. Sliding his jacket off he dropped it over the back of the chair. 

"Aren't you supposed to ask me how I'm feeling first? Isn't that the standard question that all head doctor's ask?" 

"No, the first question is 'How do you feel about your mother,' but I never get a good response with that one so I switched to number seven. I can ask you how you're feeling, but you'd probably just lie anyway. So, why are you here?" A few more goldfish went into his mouth. 

Orlando shrugged. "I don't…I don't know why I'm here." 

"You just wandered in off the street?" Mark smiled as he threw another handful of the crackers into his mouth. "Sure you don't want a cracker? They're good." 

Orlando figured if he took a cracker the man would be shut up about them, so he reached into the offered bag and snagged a few. Popping one into his mouth he found he liked the cheesy flavored crackers. 

"Cyn tells me you're an actor." Mark said to him. "What's that like? Exciting I bet." 

"It's okay. I haven't done that much yet." 

"Lord of the Rings, Black Hawk Down. I admit I haven't seen the second one yet, but it seems like Rings was one hell of a movie." 

Orlando nodded, "Yeah, it was. I had a great time making that movie." 

"So what you going to do next? Anything lined up?" The crackers were finished off, Mark rolled the bag up and tossed it into a small trash can about seven feet away. "Slam dunk, yes!" 

Orlando brought his eyes back from the trash can and thought about his answer, after a few moments he said, "Not really. I had a movie lined up, two really but I had Fiona cancel them." 

"Fiona?" Mark inquired. 

"My agent, she's handling things in England for me." He shifted in the chair again. When was this jerk going to get to the real questions, why was he dragging everything out like this? 

"Why'd you cancel?" 

He knew he'd have to tell the same damn story over again, and it never got any easier. "Because of that night, the night I was raped." 

Mark sat up, leaning over he laid the large notebook on the old scratched up coffee table that stood between them. "Wasn't it a few nights? Didn't he keep you for awhile before releasing you?" 

Jaws clenched together Orlando answered. "Yes. Three nights." 

"And you're dealing with the rape by quitting your job?" Mark asked him. 

"I'm not quitting, I'm just waiting a while before I go back to work." Orlando stated. 

"So how longs a while, a month, two, three, a year?" 

Shifting his feet under him Orlando shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know, how ever long it takes." 

"Besides here, how many times this week have you left your house?" A click of a pen and Mark leaned over and started writing in the notebook. 

The question caught him unaware, "I don't know. You're starting to sound like Viggo. A few, I guess." 

"A few, is that two a few or six a few?" More writing, another smile. 

"Once, twice…I don't know. I haven't thought about it." Orlando moved to the edge of the chair, spreading his legs apart he started to tap his fingers on the sides of his thighs. His feet continued to shift back and forth. 

"Well, why don't we take a moment and think about it. How many?" 

"I don't know. Twice maybe. Here and to the doctor's office." Orli snapped the words out. 

"Dr. Connors office?" Mark said. 

"No, my medical doctor. It was my last appointment." 

"And what did the doctor have to tell you." Mark stretched his legs out onto the coffee table with a thud. 

"He said I'm fine." Orlando couldn't take it anymore, throwing himself out of the chair he moved towards one of the bookshelves. Pretending to read the book titles he kept his back towards Mark. 

"So you've left the house twice in the last week. Doesn't it bother you being cooped up all day long? It would drive me nuts." 

Orlando had had enough, swinging back towards the room he exploded, "Well isn't that why I'm here Dr. Bakker. So you can tell me that I'm a fucking nutcase? Well I admit it, I'm a bloody God Damn loon. So you can tell Viggo that it's all right for him to tell me to get lost, it's perfectly fine to toss the idiot out on his ass." 

Mark didn't seem to be phased by the outburst at all, "I'm not a doctor, so Mark is just fine. Viggo, as in Viggo Mortensen, you've mentioned him twice now. Isn't that the man who's house you're staying at?" 

"Yes." 

"And you think Viggo should throw you out of the house? Why?" 

Orlando was surprised Mark hadn't told him to sit down and be calm, Dr. Connors never let him get up and walk around. He liked standing better than sitting, he didn't feel so caged in. And why did he have to keep the door shut? 

"I don't know. We haven't talked about it, but he can't be happy with the way things are." Orlando walked to the desk, there was one of those gadgets laying at the edge, right next to the baseball, the kind that was made out of hundreds of little silver pins, you pushed on the pins and different designs appeared. He pushed his fingers into the cool metal, turning his head he watched the door for a few seconds. Then he went back to pushing the pins again. 

"Has he said anything to you about moving out?" Mark scribbled a few notes, bringing his head up he glanced at Orlando. 

"No, as a matter of fact," Orlando stopped for a moment, picking up the toy he poked more pins, then began speaking again, "as a matter of fact the other night he referred to the house as ours." 

"I take it this relationship is more than friends, are you lovers?" 

There was no disgust in his tone when he said, not like Dr. Connors when she said the exact same words. 

"Yes," He pushed his entire hand into the pins, he pushed until it was painful, "no, we were. I don't know anymore." 

"You're not sleeping together?" 

"Yeah, we sleep together, in the same bed, but he hasn't touched me, not really, not since the rape." Orlando laid the toy back down onto the desk; he watched the shape of his hand disappear. His eyes went to the door again. 

"Is something wrong with my door?" Mark leaned around the lamp and looked at the door to his office. 

Orlando shifted his feet again. "No…yes. Why does it have to be closed?" 

Mark shook his head, "No reason, if you want it open go ahead and open it." 

He stalked to the door and opened it, pushing it up against the wall he realized he felt better now. He could breathe easier. 

It was almost as if Mark could read his mind, "Feel better?" 

He nodded and leaned back against the wall next to the door. He felt like a fool, did it really matter if the door was open or shut, of course not. 

"So, we were talking about Viggo, why you think…" 

"Aren't we supposed to talk about the rape, isn't that what I'm here for?" Orlando moved to the window. He was surprised to find a bunch of those filmy cartoon characters stuck to the inside of the window, Bugs Bunny, the Roadrunner, even that cute little alien, that little Martian guy. 

"I thought we were talking about Viggo." Mark dropped the pen onto the table, sliding his hands behind his head he leaned back against the wall. 

"Why do you have cartoons on your window?" 

Mark smiled, "One of my kids gave them to me." 

"How many kids do you have?" Orlando really didn't care, he just didn't want to talk about Viggo. 

Mark laughed this time, "I don't know I never counted them up, eleven or twelve I think." 

Orlando spun around and stared at him in shock, "You have twelve fucking children?" 

A bigger laugh, "Not mine personally, no. I have patients that I call my kids. The younger ones, anywhere from five to eighteen." 

"Why the hell do little kids need to see a shrink?" 

Mark countered with, "Why do you need to see one?" 

Orlando lowered his eyes, "Because I was raped." 

Mark nodded, "Yes, that's part of it, but there's something else bothering you isn't there. Something that you don't want to talk about because when we do you keep changing the subject. And we both know what that is don't we?" 

Orlando turned back towards the window. This guy wasn't Dr. Connors, he was way too good at his job. Closing his eyes he slowly nodded his head, "Yeah…Viggo." 

"Okay, now we're getting somewhere. Why don't you want to talk about Viggo?" 

"Because I'm gonna lose him," Orlando took a deep breath, letting it out slowly he continued. "No, I can't lose him, I've never really had him in the first place. But at least I had a chance before, but now…now it's never going to work." 

"What do you mean you had a chance before, what's changed?" 

"At least before he wanted me," Orlando shrugged his shoulders. "The sex I mean. But now, he doesn't want that, doesn't want me." 

"What makes you think he doesn't want you anymore?" 

"I told you he hasn't touched me since the rape. I mean he touches me, he puts his arm around me, holds my hand, hugs me, but he doesn't touch me in bed. He hasn't, not since it happened." 

"Have you talked to him about this?" 

Orlando turned away from the window, he slowly walked to the chair and sat down. Shrugging his shoulders he said, "I don't think I want to hear his answer." 

"What do you think he's going to say?" 

Orlando raised his hands to his head and ran his fingers through his hair, "That he doesn't love me and he never will and all I am is a stupid little kid." 

"Why would he think that?" 

"Because that's what I am, I've never had a relationship last before, and I've never had one with a man that lasted more than one or two nights." He dropped his hands to his lap. 

"How long have you been with Viggo?" 

"Almost two years." 

"Do your friends, his friends know about it?" Mark picked up the pen again. 

"Our friends do, yes, but not the world. In the business we're in, it's kind of hard to have a gay relationship and not see your face splashed all over the newsies." 

"But in your private life you are a couple, all your real friends are aware that you're together? They all know that the two of you are in a relationship?" 

"I guess…I don't know. We're just together. I don't think Vig thinks of it as a relationship." 

"What do you think it is? How do you feel about him?" 

Orlando closed his eyes. "I love him." 

"What does he say when you tell him that?" 

Opening his eyes he sat up straighter in the chair, "I…I haven't ever told him." 

"Why not?" 

He was out of the chair in a flash, "Because I told you he doesn't love me." 

"Okay, how do you feel about what happened to you that night Orlando?" 

He was surprised by the change in direction, he turned and looked at Mark again, "I have no fucking clue." 

"What's the first thing you feel when you think about that night, frightened, sad, helpless, angry?" Mark stood and moved around the table. 

"I don't know, I don't think about it." 

Mark moved closer to him, "Oh come on, you have to think about it. He took you, snatched you right off the street in broad daylight, he pissed you off didn't he? He had no right to do what he did, no damn right at all did he?" 

Orlando's jaw was clenched so tight it hurt, "I told you I don't ever think about him or that night." 

"How long are you going to lie to me, and to yourself? You know what you feel, tell me. Come on you know you want to." He was about half a foot away from Orlando now, one more step and they would be touching. 

"I told you…" 

"I know what you told me, but it wasn't the truth, so tell me the truth." Mark's voice was louder now, almost yelling. He knew what was coming and he prepared for it. 

Orlando shoved him as hard as he could, he held his clenched fist out in front of him. "He makes me angry, so fucking bleeding angry. I fucking hate him, you hear me, I hate him. If he was here right now I would fucking kill him. " 

"Feels good doesn't it?" Mark yelled, "Feels good to let it out." 

Orlando dropped his hands, his chest was heaving in and out, "Yes, it feels good." 

"And now we're getting somewhere. It's not the rape you're worried about the most is it Orlando? You can handle that, you can get mad and you can let it out. You hate him, but he's not what you're afraid of. That's not it, you're afraid that what happened is going to cost you the man that you love, isn't that right?" 

Orlando closed his eyes, tears ran down his face. Nodding his head he swallowed, "Yes, I'm so afraid of losing Viggo. I love him so much and…" 

Mark led him back over to the chair, "Sit. It's okay Orlando." 

Orlando looked up at Mark. "I'm so afraid. I get so angry and I always take it out on Viggo, I don't know why. A friend of mine said that it's because I'm waiting for him to make it all better. And he can't." 

Mark squatted down in front of him and nodded his head, "Sounds like you got a pretty smart friend there. Now, I'd like to see you alone on Tuesday afternoons, and then on Thursday afternoons I'd like to meet with you and Viggo together, alone not as part of the group. Not just yet. I think we have some things to go over together before you join in the group meetings, is that okay with you." 

Orlando nodded. 

"Then in a few weeks I'd like you to join our group, I'd like to see you talking with the other guys, we meet on Tuesday night's. I know it sounds hard, but after your first meeting it gets a lot easier, and on Thursday nights I'd like you to bring Viggo with you." 

Mark stood and moved around the table again, picking up the notebook he walked back over to Orlando. "It was nice meeting you Orlando and I look forward to seeing both you and Viggo next time. If you want to follow me we'll set up another appointment with Marsha, and just to let you in on a little secret Marsha keeps those really good jelly beans, those designer ones in all the really cool flavors hidden in her desk, you distract her when you set up your appointment and I'll steal us some, how's that sound?" 

Orlando smiled he liked this man. He was nothing like Dr. Connors, he felt comfortable with Mark. He thought Viggo would like him too. He was actually looking forward to coming back to see him again. 

"Can I have the red ones?" Orlando said as they left the office.


	11. Chapter 11

"So, here we are again, just the three of us. We keep meeting like this and people are going to start talking," Mark Bakker said as he took a seat on the couch facing both Orlando and Viggo. 

Orlando had informed Viggo weeks ago before their first meeting about the seating arrangements, so they'd already turned their chairs to face the couch when they first entered the room. And Mark had made sure his assistant understood that the door was to be left open whenever Orlando was here. 

"It's nice to see you again, too." Viggo smiled at the man. After Orli's first meeting with Mark Bakker, Viggo had heard nothing but good things about this man. His curiosity had almost overwhelmed him, he wanted to meet this man who had almost overnight changed Orli's outlook. What had Mark Bakker done in one appointment that Dr. Connors couldn't do after almost a month and a half to bring about such a change in Orli? 

It had been almost a month since Orli had first entered this man's office, a month that hadn't been wrought with arguments, there hadn't been one temper tantrum on Orli's part. There had been a few tense moments here and there, but nothing like it had been. It was almost as if a calmness had settled over Orli. 

"You're looking a little green around the gills my man, no reason to worry. Believe me, this is practically painless. And please try to keep in mind that I used the word practically." That had been the first thing Mark had said to Viggo at their very first appointment, and the man had smiled when he'd said it. 

Mark had met with Orlando one more time after that first appointment, he'd decided that he wanted to meet with Viggo a few times alone before having them meet all together, so twice a week for two weeks Viggo and Mark had met. And Viggo had come to understand why Orli liked the man so much. And it had been practically painless…practically. They'd talked about the rape, they'd talked about how Viggo felt about it, how he felt about Orli, and how he was dealing with it all. And now for the last two weeks they'd been meeting with all three of them together. Viggo had felt better after each and every one of the appointments, and he could see a huge difference in Orli. 

"How are you doing Orlando?" Mark asked as he drew his legs up onto the couch and stretched out. Placing the leather bound notebook on his thighs he looked at Orlando. 

Orlando smiled at Vig and turned to Mark, "I'm good. I had a really good week, I actually left the house a few times, just ask Viggo." 

"Is he yanking my chain Vig, did he actually leave the house?" Mark asked with an overdramatic look on his face. 

"Yes, he went shopping with a friend, Dominic Monaghan, they went out and bought these hideous shirts. Ruffles and checks. They both have awful taste." 

"Dom didn't buy anything with ruffles or checks, he bought that bright yellow jumper, the one with the purple collar," Orlando said. "I bought the ruffles and checks." 

"See, I told you, their taste in clothing stinks. And we also went to a professional football game with another friend, Sean Bean." 

"That was not football, that was kiddy stuff. Rank amateurs, that's what they are, they would never last in a game with real players." Orlando smirked. 

"You mean British players don't you?" Viggo said. They'd had this argument before. 

"I didn't say that, you did." Orlando turned to Mark, "I didn't say anything like that at all." 

"Plus we went to dinner, several times alone, and a few times with various friends of ours," Viggo added. 

"How did that go, any problems?" 

They both knew what he was asking, had anyone recognized Orlando? 

"No, no problems, and not one reporter. I think I have finally become yesterday's news." 

"How does that make you feel?" Mark asked him. 

"Good, it's good not to be chased down by those hounds, but I never wanted to be in the news to begin with. Not for that reason at least." Orlando told him. "Oh and I also found some of those jelly beans, you know those ones that Marsha got so mad at us for eating. I bought her a bag too." 

"Well that's great, cause Marsha didn't buy anymore. She was a bit upset with us last week. Said we have to buy our own from now on. I don't know why she got so upset, we only took them twice. It wasn't like we did it all the time. That woman is mean, you can't imagine what I put up with." 

Viggo had not been party to the great jelly bean robberies, he'd stood back and innocently watched them work their wiles on the receptionist. Looking over he noticed Orli's huge smile, and if it would mean keeping him smiling the entire hour, Viggo would talk about jelly beans all they wanted. 

"Okay, so this week we're getting to the personal stuff. So is everybody ready?" At their nods he continued, "Okay then, so Viggo, I understand you' re an actor, like Orlando here." Mark got up and walked to the desk. Viggo could hear drawers opening and closing. 

"Ah, well I'm not as good as Orlando, but yeah I'm an actor," Viggo answered him. He watched as Mark returned to the couch with a small white bag. 

"Goldfish?" Mark inquired as he leaned over with the bag held out to them. 

"Just take some of the damn things Viggo, or else he'll be bugging you about them the entire time," Orlando said with a laugh. 

Viggo reached over and snagged a few of the small crackers. 

"What makes you think you're not as good as Orlando? Haven't you been acting longer than he has, been in more movies?" Mark said as he munched. 

"Almost longer than he's been alive." Viggo offered, "but I'm not in the same class as he is. He's a hell of a lot better than I ever was." 

"That's not true, he's being modest." Orlando said. The smile had left his face. "Very modest." 

"You don't like hearing him say that, do you Orlando?" 

Orlando shook his head, "No, I don't. He's ten times better an actor than I could ever be." 

"So you have a one man fan club living in the same house with you, is that right Viggo?" Mark smiled. 

Viggo shrugged. "I'm a better photographer than I am an actor." 

"Now there I would agree, you should see some of his stuff, it's fabulous," Orlando proudly announced. 

"Maybe one day I'll have the honor." Mark said, "So, you act and you take fabulous pictures, plus you paint. I'd be pretty accurate in calling you a Renaissance man then." 

Orlando smiled, he knew how much Viggo hated that term, "Yes, you would." 

"I'm just an actor who got lucky in a few other areas too, that's all. I'm not special in any way." Viggo was getting a bit uncomfortable. 

"And do you have any hidden talents Orlando, anything up your sleeve?" Mark jotted a few notes down. 

"No, I'm pretty much talentless as far as the arts go." 

Mark watched as Viggo turned his head to stare at Orlando with raised eyebrows. 

"Would you agree with that Viggo, is Orlando's only talent in distracting my secretary so he can get his hands on her secret stash of jelly beans?" Mark asked. 

"No." Turning back to Mark he smiled, "No, Orlando's very talented, he sculptures, in clay. He's done some pretty good stuff, and his friends would agree if he'd share any of it." 

Orlando's jaws clenched together. The young man turned his head and stared at the wall a few feet away. 

"You keep your light hidden under a bushel Orlando? You don't want people to see your work?" Mark questioned. 

Orlando just shrugged his shoulders and didn't answer. 

"Are you working on anything right now?" Mark tried another tactic. 

Still staring at the same wall he shrugged his shoulders again, "Not really." 

"You are working on something. I haven't seen it, he keeps it covered with a sheet," Viggo said. 

"What are you working on Orlando?" The tone of Mark's voice had changed, Viggo noticed it right away, it was his no nonsense voice. 

Another shrug of the shoulders, and then a barely audible response, "Dom thought it was dolphins, Lij thought it was dancers." 

"So you did share it with your friends," Mark said. 

"No, they snuck in and looked at it." 

"But it isn't dolphins…or dancers, is it?" Mark said, in the same stern tone of voice. 

Orlando finally turned from the wall, dropping his eyes to his lap he now stared at his clasped fingers, the knuckles were showing white. A slow shake of his head, "No, it was…" 

Viggo sat and watched. He felt like he was watching a scene in one of his movies but no one had given him the script. Part of him wanted to stop this, take Orli home and not have to see him go through this. But the other part told him that he couldn't protect Orli from himself. Orli needed help and it seemed like Mark could give him that help. 

Mark continued, "What was it Orlando?" 

"It was him…us." Orlando suddenly sighed, "I don't want to do it, but no matter what I try to shape, no matter what I tell my hands to do the clay always turns into him…and me. I'm chained to the floor and he's behind me…over me." 

Viggo recalled the conversation they'd had at breakfast a while back, about the clay not working for him. This is what he'd been talking about. 

Mark laid his pen and notebook down onto the small table, dropping his legs to the floor he turned towards Orlando. "Why do you think that it happens like that, why do you think your hands shape something that's not what you planned?" 

"I don't know, I tell myself that it's me and Viggo, but I know it's not. It 's like my mind is telling me to do it but I'm not listening, and my hands are just doing it anyway. I don't know, maybe I have to get it out, and this is the only way I can."

"What's your mind telling you to let out, what wants out?" Mark asked him. 

Orlando shrugged his shoulders, "I'm not sure…the anger, the pain. Sometimes I just want to yell and scream, and I can't." 

"But you do yell and scream don't you? Don't you let the anger out at Viggo?" 

"Yes, and I hate that. I don't want to yell at him but I do, I can't help it." Orlando turned and looked at Viggo, "I'm sorry, I don't want to do that." 

Viggo reached over and took his hand, wedging his fingers in between Orli's he gave them a gentle squeeze. 

"Don't you?" Mark asked. "Why do you think you can yell at him?" 

"I don't know." He turned his head away, dropping his eyes again, but he kept his fingers intertwined with Vig's. 

"Sure you do, the answer's there, you just don't want to say it. But you have to. So go ahead, just say it, that's all you have to do. Just open your mouth and tell us, why is it okay to yell at Viggo." 

"I don't…I really don't know. I don't want to hurt him. I hate it when I hurt him." 

"But you still do it, don't you Orlando, and you know why you do it. You do it because you know Viggo doesn't want you anymore. But you also know that Viggo's too nice to tell you. So you'll push and you'll push until he finally can't take it anymore, he'll finally ask you to leave." 

Viggo came up out of his chair faster than Mark had expected, "What the hell is that supposed to mean, that's a bunch of shit and you know it." 

Mark never looked at Viggo, he kept his eyes on Orlando. "Is it Orlando, is it a bunch of shit?" 

Orlando looked at Mark, "I…" 

"Don't tell me, tell Viggo," Mark said. "Isn't that what you believe, isn't that what you told me, that Viggo doesn't want you anymore?" 

Viggo turned and looked at Orli, he knew that Mark must have somehow misunderstood, he knew that Orli didn't feel that way, he couldn't. But when he looked at Orli's face he knew, he knew that's exactly what Orli believed. 

"Orli?" Viggo couldn't believe this was happening. "Orli you don't believe that do you?" 

Orlando's face was covered in tears, he let them fall unchecked. "I don't know what to believe anymore. You never…" 

When Orli didn't finish speaking Viggo squatted down next to Orli's chair. "Look at me. I never what, Orli?" 

Mark sat watching quietly, he didn't say a word. 

Orlando threw himself out of the chair, stalking to the desk he stood behind it. "See that's exactly what I mean, you don't want me, you want Orli, and he doesn't exist anymore." 

"What the hell does that mean? You are Orli." Viggo was so confused. He'd been dying to ask that question for months now. If he wasn't Orli who the hell did he think he was? 

Orlando pounced back and forth, he went from one foot to the other. "Orli was some punk kid, he did whatever he wanted when he wanted. He didn't stop to think, he reacted to stupid childish things in stupid ways. He never thought about anything important, he just opened his gob and let anything pour out. He never took anything seriously. That's who you want. And I'm not him. I don't want to be him." 

Viggo sighed, "Orli, Orlando, it doesn't matter what you call yourself, you' re the same to me. You lived life to the fullest, you met everything head on, you took responsibility for everything you said and did. And you never offered any excuses. That's just who you were, who you are. It wasn't bad, you aren't some punk kid who is just a reactionist. You love life and you lived it. And you made me live it, you made me want to live it right there alongside you. From the first god damn moment I met you I wanted you. Hell, even when I thought you were straight I wanted you." 

"Yeah you wanted me, but you were ashamed of me. Ashamed because I was just a kid. A stupid fucking kid. You never wanted anything permanent. You never talk about the future, you never say one word about what you want for us in the future. You've never once called what we have a relationship." Orlando was practically screaming by the time he'd finished. Sweat was prominent on his brow, his chest heaved up and down. 

Viggo shook his head, "No, that's not true…" 

"Isn't it? Damn it Vig the only thing we had going for us was the sex. And now, now you don't even want that. I know why, I understand why, but it still fucking hurts." The pain and anguish came pouring out with each word, "I know you never loved me, but it still hurts so much Vig." 

Orlando never had a chance to get away from him. One minute Viggo was standing across the room watching him, the next he was around the chairs and desk and standing right next to Orlando. Taking his face in his hands he brought it up to his. 

"I never said I love you because I was so fucking afraid you didn't love me. I was afraid, afraid you were going to look at me and laugh." 

Shaking his head Orlando looked at him, "I would never laugh at you Viggo. Never." 

"I never thought you were too young for me, I thought I was too old for you. Why would someone like you want me? Your life is just beginning and mine is over. I'm old Orli, too old for someone like you. I was always waiting for the day when you would come to me and tell me 'well it's been great, but it' s time for me to move on', and I lived in fear of that day." 

Tears poured out of Orlando's eyes. "But you never touch me anymore. Every night I keep hoping that this is the night, tonight he'll reach for me and it will be just like it was before, but you never do." 

"I'm so sorry baby, it's like I said, I'm afraid. Afraid that if I touch you you'll remember the attack, remember and hate me. I'm so afraid I'm going to do something wrong, or say something that's going to make you think of that bastard and then you'll be frightened of me. I'm so afraid it makes me sick to my stomach sometimes. I didn't think you wanted me to touch you, not after what he did to you." 

"He raped me Vig, you make love to me, it's not the same at all," Orlando explained to him. "I waited that night, remember that night on the beach when we sat and talked, and then I asked you to kiss me. That was the night I knew you didn't…didn't want me anymore because I waited for you that night, but you stayed up and talked with Sean all night." 

Viggo closed his eyes, "I know, but I was afraid that if I walked in that bedroom I would have reached for you and I would have lost you. I was willing to live with the way things were, all the anger, all the screaming, anything from you, I'd live like that before I'd ever give you a reason to leave me." 

Orlando smiled, "I'm never going to leave you Viggo. Never. I love you too much to even think about living without you." 

Viggo felt like his knees were going to give out, "I don't want to live without you. I love you too." 

Pulling him closer Viggo bent and kissed him, mumbling those three words over and over again the entire time. 

Orlando felt the words enter his mouth and he drank each and every one of them in. He wanted to laugh, cry, shout, and scream all at the same time. But he did none of those things, he just stood and kissed the man he loved. 

"I love my job." 

They both stopped and turned and looked at Mark. They'd forgotten he was even in the room. Smiling they both started to give him their apologies. 

"No, no, don't apologize. This was better than stealing candy from Marsha. I don't get to do this everyday. Just sit back and let the patients handle the sessions. And I get paid for this too. I just love my job." 

*******

They finally made it home, twice they'd stopped the car and pulled over to the side of the road. Viggo had told him they were probably going to get arrested for public indecency. 

Walking in the door they were met with a room full of people. They'd never even noticed the cars parked in the driveway. 

"Party going on without us?" Orlando asked. 

He was met with blank stares. Everyone was there, all the hobbits, Liv, Ian and Sean Bean. No one said a word. 

"Who died?" Orlando asked. 

Sean Bean cleared his throat, "Detective Matthews called, the others heard it on the news." 

"Heard what?" Viggo said as he looked around the room. 

"Orlando, sit down." Ian said. 

He knew by his friends' faces that this wasn't going to be good news. And he knew that whatever it was it was linked to…that man. 

"Ian?" Orlando questioned as he just let himself fall onto the couch. 

"What the hell's going on?" Viggo asked as he sat next to Orli. Taking his hand he squeezed it tight, and felt Orli lean into him. 

"That man, the one who took Orlando…he took another young man," Ian told them, "He…he killed him."


	12. Chapter 12

"What?" Viggo couldn't believe it. He turned and looked at Orli. It could have been Orli, that's the only thing that was running through his mind, that it could have been Orli who was dead. 

"Who was he?" Orli questioned. 

Sean Bean answered him, "A young college student. Detective Matthews said he was studying at UCLA. He's from Arkansas, his parents are on their way. His roommate reported him missing only yesterday. They weren't sure if he fit the profile or not." 

Viggo just sat there, he couldn't take his eyes off Orli's face. Leaning over he pressed his forehead against Orli's, he moved his hand up over Orli' s shoulders and pulled him against him. 

"He was just a twenty-three year old kid who disappeared yesterday afternoon, he had just left his job at a record shop downtown, nobody saw him after he left work. A young cop found his body in a dumpster right off of Hollywood Boulevard. He'd been dead about four hours they think," Elijah told them. "I heard it on the news, I called the others. We decided to come here, to make sure you heard it from us first." 

"How…how did he…?" Viggo couldn't say it. 

Beanie wasn't stupid, he knew what he was asking. "He slit his throat, Viggo." 

"My God!" Orlando said, "How do you know it was him? I mean it could have been anyone right?" 

Ian slowly shook his head, "The injuries to the body, everything points to that man, but he also, well, evidently he left a note, he named all the victims in it. It's him Orlando, the news said that the police have no doubts." 

Viggo knew he had to get Orli out of the room, he could feel the small lean body shaking against him. 

"What's going on Vig? Why would he kill someone, why after all this time, I mean before he always released us, why would he kill someone now?" Orlando's voice was getting louder with every word. 

Viggo moved both arms around the cold body sitting next to him. Pulling him tightly against his chest he leaned back against the cushions behind him. 

"Vig?" Orlando whispered the word into Viggo's face. 

"It was…Detective Matthews said that he is…well he's not getting enough from just the kidnappings and rapes. That now he has to have more, more violence, he's progressed to a taste for more, a taste for blood." Beanie had been barely able to get the words out. 

Viggo didn't know if he could handle this right now. All his brain could register was that it could have been Orli, but he was here, he was safe, his mind kept repeating that Orli was alive, he was alive and here with him. Safe in his arms. 

"It's okay, you're okay. Everything is going to be alright," Viggo whispered against Orli's forehead. Moving his face downward he gently laid a kiss against the warm cheek under his lips. 

He felt Orli stiffen against him. Whispering soothingly to him he told him over and over again that he was safe, that he wouldn't let anything happen to him. He made promises he knew he couldn't keep, but he still had to make them. 

"It's okay, nothing is going to happen to you, you're safe, baby." 

"Did they find him, did they get that asshole?" Orlando questioned. 

Viggo just kept moving his hands from Orli's back to his head, then skimmed them down over his back again, he moved one hand down Orli's shoulder to his hand and then back up again, down his hip, back up again, he couldn't stop touching him. 

"No, they didn't get him," Ian answered. 

"My God." Orlando pulled away from Vig, stood up, paced across the floor. His friends watched him, not knowing what to do. 

Liv stood and moved next to him, grabbing his arm as she tried to stop him from moving away, but he slung her arm off and moved towards the deck doors. 

Viggo left the sofa quickly, and moving as fast as he could he crossed the room to take him into his arms again. He just wanted to hold him and take away all his pain. But he wasn't quick enough, Orlando dived away from his arms and ran through the door before Viggo could stop him. 

"Orli!" 

"Orli!" he called again as he moved through the door. He didn't bother with the steps. Leaping off the porch he hit the sand, almost going to his knees from the impact. Straightening himself up he took off after Orlando. 

He followed him to the waters edge. Orli had slumped down to his knees. Viggo moved directly behind him and sank to his knees, one on either side of Orli. Sliding his hands under his arms he circled his waist and pulled him tightly against him. 

"Do you want me to call Mark?" Viggo didn't know what to do, maybe Mark could help him. 

Orlando shook his head, "No, I'm okay. I just…I just keep thinking about that last day." 

"What last day?" 

"The last day he held me. When I got mad, I was yelling at him, and I hit him, and then after…after he raped me he put that cloth over my face and I remember thinking that this was it. It was all going to end, he was going to finally kill me now. I thought it was all over right then and there. And I remember almost feeling relieved, Viggo. I mean, I didn't want to die, but I just wanted it to stop, I wanted it all to just go away." 

Orlando's arms snaked around Viggo's forearms, spreading his hands out he gripped them tightly to him. "Like I said, I didn't want to die, but I just wanted it to stop. I wonder if that's how this kid felt. Just at the last moment was he relieved that it was all over with?" 

"We'll never know," Vig told him. 

"He takes pictures. Somewhere out there, there are pictures of me, being chained and raped. And now pictures of this kid dying. And he has them," the tremors had subsided now, his body hardly shook at all, "what does he do with those pictures Vig? Does he sit and look at them over and over again? Does he wank off to them?" 

"Orli don't, don't think about it," Viggo told him. 

"But I can't not think about it. That could have been me…" 

Viggo tried to swing him around, but with the way they were sitting it didn' t work, they both fell to the sand, Viggo's body arrayed over Orli's. 

"No, I won't even let you say it. It wasn't you, damn it," Viggo cried. "You 're alive, you're with me, I won't let anything happened to you. You're alive." 

Orlando reached up and stroked his fingers across Viggo's brow, "Shhhh, it's okay. No, you're right, I'm not dead. I'm here, right here with you." 

Viggo squeezed his eyes shut, "I can't even think about losing you Orli, I can't. Please, don't even think it. I love you, I love you so much." 

Orlando pulled Viggo's head down, and laying his lips against his face he kissed him, quietly whispering soothing words to him over and over again, one word, one kiss. Butterfly kisses over his eyebrows, across his eyelids, his cheekbones, down along his jaw. He kissed him everywhere he could reach. 

"It's okay Viggo, I'm here, I'm never leaving you." 

He moved his hands to the back of Viggo's neck and moved his lips against Viggo's. He'd meant to be gentle but he wasn't, he couldn't be, not now. 

Orlando parted his lips, his tongue slipped along the seam of Viggo's mouth, he waited, the mouth opened and he slipped his tongue into the wet hot space there. 

Viggo shifted until his hips were aligned with Orli's, sliding them back and forth against the hard evidence of Orli's arousal. He was surprised when suddenly he felt Orli pull his face away. He opened his eyes not wanting to see fear, but he was so afraid that that's what he would find there. 

"Vig." Orlando moaned. 

"What?" Vig answered, waiting for Orli to ask him to stop. 

"In about two seconds we're going to have an audience." 

Viggo looked up, swinging his head around, finally noticing a group of people moving closer to them. It was the hobbits. 

"Damn voyeurs," Vig said as he moved off of Orli, using his hands to pull him up off the damp sand. 

"Sorry to interrupt, but Detective Matthews is on the phone for you Viggo," Sean Astin said as they got closer to them. 

"I'm gonna go get that, you going to be okay?" he said to Orli. 

"Yeah, I'm okay." Orli smiled at him. 

He nodded and moved off towards the house. 

"You really okay, Orlando?" Dom asked him. 

"Yeah Dommie, I'm okay." Orlando smiled at the other boy. 

"Want to go on a bender?" Lij said, "Or do you just want us to get the hell out of your way? Looks like we were interrupting something here." 

"No benders," Orlando said, "and yes, why don't you all take Sean and go get something to eat. Something with five courses and dessert." 

A round of laughter was heard. 

"Well if it's on you, well, then I say we head out to the best restaurant in town, what do you say mates?" Dom asked the others. 

"I didn't say it's on me, I just want you all out of my house." Orlando told them with a smile. 

They all turned and headed towards the house. 

Liv stood on the deck and smiled at them as they approached her. 

Looking directly at Orli she said, "You okay, my elf brother?" 

He took her hand and brought it to his lips. "Sorry about that in there, just had to get out for a minute. And yes I'm fine, Princess." 

She smiled again and hugged him. He hugged her back and whispered into her ear, "Get these people out of my house, I have wicked plans for Viggo tonight." 

Giggling, she nodded her head and they headed through the doors. 

He looked around the room, but couldn't see Viggo anywhere. 

Beanie came up and nodded towards the kitchen, "He's on the phone. I'm headed out with the hobbits, got an extra key for me?" 

"Yeah, let me get it for you." He headed into the kitchen and took one of the keys hanging on the little hooks next to the refrigerator. Viggo was on the phone talking with Cyn Matthews, holding a beer in his hand. Orlando moved to stand next to Viggo, and without interrupting the conversation, kissed him lightly on his right shoulder blade and then moved back into the living room. He handed the key to Sean. 

"Ah…I'll be late getting back, that's not going to be a problem is it?" 

Orlando smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder he grinned, "No son, stay out as late as you like, your mum and I have plans for tonight." 

Sean laughed and left the room to collect his jacket and wallet. 

"Want us to bring you anything back? We can get you a doggie bag," Lij said. 

"No, don't bring us anything back, matter of fact don't come back at all. Not tonight, okay?" Orlando told him. 

Lij grinned and nodded. "See, Billy, I told you we did interrupt them, we should have waited." 

"It wasn't my idea to go traipsing out there. That was your bright idea. Don 't go blaming me," Billy replied. 

Ian slipped his jacket on and moved towards the door. "I refuse to eat at a restaurant that I have to shout my order into the large head of some beast. I want a real table, wooden chairs and cloth napkins. Nor do I want my drink in a paper cup. I want class, do you all hear me?" 

Laughing, Orlando shuffled all of them to the door, and after hugs and kisses everyone left. He walked up the steps and down the hall. 

*******

"Orlando?" Viggo called from the bottom of the steps. He wondered where everyone had run off to. 

Detective Matthews had kept him on the phone for about thirty minutes, she'd given him all the details of what had happened. The man had detailed in his letter why he had taken the men, and why he'd done all those horrible things to them. He'd said they'd called to him, the voices in his head, telling him that God had promised these men to him, that they were there for his pleasure. Pleasure, hell what that man was doing had nothing to do with pleasure. 

"Orlando?" He called again. Orli appeared at the top of the steps, all Vig could see was the top of his head. 

"Where'd everyone go?" Viggo asked him. 

Orli smiled, "They're gone. Can you come up here? I want to show you something." 

"Where's Beanie?" Viggo said as he started up the steps. 

"He went with them. Don't worry, he has a key." 

Viggo walked down the dark hallway, he could see some kind of shimmering light coming from the bedroom he shared with Orli. Entering the room he was amazed at what he saw. Candlelight reflected everywhere, there had to be at least thirty of them scattered around the room, every available surface was taken up by them. 

Orli stood with his back to Vig, naked. 

"Orli?" 

"I know you told me not to think about it, but I just can't stop thinking that it could have been me Vig." Orli slowly turned and looked at him. "I might have never made it out of there alive. I might never have seen you again." 

He slowly walked towards Viggo, stopped directly in front of him. If Viggo had wanted to he could have reached out and touched him. But he didn't, this was Orli's dance, he'd let him lead. 

"I'd already decided on the way home tonight that I wasn't going to wait any longer. I was going to tell you that I wanted you to make love to me tonight. But after finding out what that animal did…well I'm not going to ask you." 

Viggo closed his eyes. After the session with Mark, after they had declared their love out loud for each other, after all the kisses and groping in the car, he'd thought that this night would end up with them making love. And it hurt to know that that wasn't going to happen after all. But at the same time he knew he would respect Orli's wishes, he just wanted to be with him tonight, he'd take him in any way he could get him. If that meant just laying next to him again, so be it. 

Keeping his eyes closed he said, "It doesn't matter, I realize you've had a shock tonight and…" 

"Vig, shut-up. I'm not going to ask you to make love to me. I'm going to make love to you," Orlando told him. 

Viggo opened his eyes in time to see Orli step around him and move to the door, slowly closing it. Viggo heard the lock click. Orlando turned back to Viggo, moving up behind him he reached around him and grasped the buttons at the bottom of his shirt and started to release them from the holes. 

"Take off your shoes love," Orli whispered to him. He curled his tongue up and swirled it around the shell of Viggo's ear. 

Viggo toed his shoes off and leaned back against Orli. It had been so long, he wondered if he'd be able to last. 

"I love you, Orlando Bloom," he whispered to him. 

"I love you, Viggo Mortensen, I think I have since the first moment I met you," Orli whispered back. 

The shirt was discarded, and closing his eyes again Viggo felt a tug on his belt, then the pants were being slid down his legs, underwear with them. He stood as naked as Orli. 

Orli's hands were everywhere, he moved them from the top of Viggo's shoulders down to his ass, barely touching, feather light touches were skimmed all over Viggo's body. Viggo felt goose bumps rise along his skin. 

"Does that feel good?" Orli asked him, his hands moving around to his chest, swirling through the fine hairs there. Fingertips smoothed over a nipple, pinching it lightly as it peaked. 

"Oh God Orli, I've dreamed about this, I've laid there in our bed and I dreamed about it," Viggo told him, his voice shaking slightly. 

"You don't have to dream anymore, it's really happening. I've wanted this just as long as you." 

Viggo felt his body being pulled towards the large bed that took up almost the entire room. 

They crawled into that large king sized bed together, Viggo laid down on his back, Orlando leaning over him. He was so nervous, so worried that he was going to do the wrong thing, or say something that would make this all disappear. "Are you sure?" 

"Yes, I'm sure," Orlando told him. 

*******

Neither one said anything for a few moments. Orlando listened to Viggo's uneven breathing, taking a small breath himself he leaned his face closer to Viggo. 

"Would you kiss me again?" 

He felt the slight jerk of Viggo's body. When Viggo made no movement to lean closer Orlando was positive he'd make a huge mistake. 

"The butterflies in my stomach must have soaked up the small amount of alcohol that I just drank, and even that small amount seemed to have gone directly to their tiny brains, cause they're doing drunken loops inside my stomach now," Viggo said. 

Orlando smiled, "Are you nervous, Vig?" 

Viggo smiled, "No, I'm just waiting for them to calm down. When I can move without causing them to start fluttering again I'm going to let you make love to me, I promise you." 

Orlando felt Vig's left arm slide out from between their bodies, it moved up to gently cradle his head. Leaning in at the same time Orlando felt him pull his head towards his, lowered his eyelids and as gently as possible he laid his lips against Orlando's. Or what he thought was his lips, he missed by about half an inch. Orlando felt him smile, then he felt the tiniest kiss laid against his cheek, nuzzling the silky skin there. He was restraining himself, Orlando could feel it. 

Orlando had been sure he'd be the one who would be nervous. He was, a bit, but he could tell that Viggo was far more nervous than he was. 

"You feel so good," Viggo whispered into Orli's ear. "It's been so long." 

He felt a hand move across his side pulling him closer, the bed shifted as Vig turned to face him. "Orli…please don't stop." 

Their lips came together, slamming against each other. Neither of them were gentle; his lips weren't softly gliding over Viggo's as he had intended. He molded his lips against Viggo's as he sucked his tongue into his mouth. Orlando wasn't in control as he kissed Viggo, but it didn't matter, he really didn't care at this point. 

The fingers sliding up Viggo's naked chest must have caused the butterflies to start off again. Orlando could feel the slight shaking that was taking place in Viggo's body. It made him smile. But he forgot about them a moment later when he felt Viggo's fingers slide up his chest, those same fingers firmly grasped his nipple and squeezed. His sudden intake of breath caused Viggo to grin into his mouth. 

"Are you okay Orli?" 

"Yes, don't stop, please don't stop." He was the one begging now, he didn't want this to stop. 

The fingers left his nipple, slid down his ribcage, under his arm and dipped into the curve of his hip. He couldn't stop his body from turning, the fingers barely glanced over the skin on the inside of his hip, it tickled, his stomach muscled clenched up. He willed himself to relax. A small moan left his mouth as the fingers firmly slid down and around his hard cock. 

"Oh God." 

Viggo's lips left his, he felt something wet slide along his cheek and down over his jaw. He felt warm wet lips curl around the skin on his neck. Those same lips were sucking now, he wondered for a moment if he would have a mark there in the morning. He didn't care at this point. 

"Who's making love to who here?" Orlando asked him, barely able to get the words out. 

"We're making love to each other," Viggo told him with a quick kiss. 

"I like the sound of that." 

He slid his hand down Vig's ribcage and pushed his fingers into the curly brown hair. Sliding his fingers around the hot length he found there he gently squeezed. Viggo moaned into Orlando's mouth. 

Orlando laughed, "And I liked the sound of that, too." 

Viggo pushed up onto his elbows, "Lay back, baby." 

Orlando laid back and smiled up at Viggo. "What do you have in mind?" 

"Just wait and see," Viggo told him. He pushed one of his legs in between Orlando's and slid his body over him. Lowering his head towards Orlando he slid his tongue down the center of his chest. He stopped and cupped his lips over the curved hip bone, drawing the skin between his lips he sucked. 

"I'm going to…ahhh…gonna have love bites all over." Orlando groaned. 

"Oh yeah," Viggo told him. "I love the taste of your body. And especially the taste of this." 

Orlando sucked in as much air as possible as Viggo swallowed him in one gulp. He could feel the head of his cock nudging the back of Viggo's throat. 

"Jesus fuck, Viggo…stop, please stop, I'll come if you keep that up." Orlando told him breathlessly. 

"Go ahead, come," Viggo told him as he sucked him back into his mouth. 

"No." Trying to pull away from Viggo's mouth Orlando stammered, "No…no. I want to come inside you. Please, Viggo, I want to be inside you when I come." 

Viggo looked up and stared at him, Orlando had taken Viggo before, but it didn't happen that often, usually it was Viggo who ended up being inside of Orlando. 

"Yes." Viggo said as he moved up to the pillows. Resting on his stomach he grabbed the beside table drawer and rummaged around inside for a few moments. When he finally shut it again Orlando could see the white tube and silver packet in his hand. 

"Turn over," Orlando said. 

Viggo turned over, laying back he handed the items to Orlando. He tried to watched as Orlando prepared him but he could barely keep his eyes open. 

"Does that feel good, Viggo, does it?" Orlando asked him as he slid two fingers inside him. 

Dropping his head back, closing his eyes he answered him, "Yes, baby, it feels so fucking good." 

Orlando threw the tube and the empty foil to the floor and he slid the condom down over himself. Leaning up he grabbed a pillow and told Viggo to lift his bum. As soon as the pillow was in place he moved up as close to Viggo as he could get. Placing the head of his cock against the small tight ring between the smooth cheeks of Viggo's ass he gently pushed against him. 

"Look at me Viggo, don't take your eyes off of me, I want to see your eyes." Orlando told him as he slowly entered Viggo's body. 

"Yessss…" Viggo hissed. Keeping his eyes on Orlando he pulled his knees back as far as they would go. 

When he could go no farther Orlando leaned over and pressed his lips against Viggo's. "I love you, Viggo, I love you so much." 

"Orli, love you, love you," Viggo whispered. 

Orlando slowly pulled out and pushed back in, trying to move slowly but Viggo was pushing back too fast, too hard. He could feel himself speed up, felt the hard waves of pleasure shooting through his body. It had been too long, he didn't think he could last. Sliding his hand down he placed his hand over Viggo's cock and started moving it in time with his thrust. 

He'd wanted to make it last, but he knew he couldn't, he was almost there, and from the sounds coming from Viggo's lips he was seconds away from orgasm too. 

"Come with me Vig, please…together." Orlando gasped. 

"Yes, yes, now…harder, please." Viggo was practically screaming now. He pushed hard against Orlando, his feet were pressing into the bed so hard the sheets had pulled off the sides and were inching up the mattress. 

Both of them did come at the same time, Viggo opened his mouth to scream, Orlando slammed his mouth down against his, mixing his scream with Viggo's. 

Heavy breathing was the only thing breaking the silence in the room. Viggo pulled the pillow out from under him and slung it across the bed. Sliding his arms around Orlando's body he pulled him up against him and turned onto his side, snuggling as close as possible. He opened his eyes to see Orlando' s tear stained face next to him. 

"Don't cry baby, please don't cry." 

"I'm gonna say something stupid, but it's the only thing I can think of," Orlando told him. 

"What?" Viggo asked him. 

"I feel like I've come home," Orlando told him. 

"It's not stupid at all," Viggo told him. "Welcome home, Orli." 

They lay in the darkness and watched the candlelight dance around the room. After a while Orlando's bladder couldn't handle it any longer so he got up to go to the bathroom. When he came back into the room, Viggo kissed him as he passed him on the way into the bathroom. Orlando moved around the room and blew out the candles. Crawling back into the bed he pulled the sheet up and waited for Viggo to come back. A few moments later Viggo joined him. Wrapping their arms around each other they lay in the darkness. 

Orli broke the silence. "Vig?" 

"Yeah?" 

"Why do you call me boy. I mean before the rape you always referred to me as boy, why?" 

He could feel Viggo's lips spread into a smile. "Why do you always call me old man?" 

"Oh. Yeah, I do don't I?" Orli said. 

"Why don't we agree not to use either term from now on?" Viggo suggested. 

"Agreed," Orli told him. 

"I like having you hold me when I fall asleep," Orlando whispered into the darkness. "I've missed it." 

Viggo moved his body closer and curled himself against Orlando's side. "I've missed it too. I also missed you talking to me at night." 

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Orli laughed. 

"Finish your sculpture," Viggo said. 

"Why?" 

"Because you have to," Viggo told him. "And when you're done, maybe you'll know why you had to create it." 

Orli nodded, "Okay."


	13. Chapter 13

The men stood and stared at the sculpture, which was almost finished. You could make out the smooth curved bodies of two men, one leaning over the back of the other. The hands of the man on the bottom were linked together and chained to a small ring coming from the base of the clay. The arch in the lower man's back gave the impression of pain, the abrupt curve giving the viewer the distinct image of a figure being tortured. The hands of the upper figure, tightly clasping the hair of the lower man's head, pulled it as far back as it would go. Every detail was meticulous even down to the small covering over the blank face of one of the men. 

"So that's him?" Dom moved around the small round table. 

"Yep, that's Dickhead in all his glory." Orli smoothed out a curve in the clay. 

Sean Astin stood between Dom and Orli. "Are you finished?" 

"No, not yet," Orli said as he moved to clean his hands. "Almost." 

"Why don't they have faces?" Dom asked as he bent over to get a closer look at the figures in front of him. 

Sean slapped him upside his head. "Because nobody knows what Dickhead looks like, that's why." 

"Oh, that's right. But isn't the other one supposed to have Orli's face?" Dom questioned. 

"Jesus, Dom," Lij said from across the room, as he moved to stand next to his friends. "Why would Orli want to put his face on it?" 

"It doesn't have my face because it's not me," Orli told them as he scraped clay from his fingers. "I mean at first I thought it was, but I've been thinking about it. It's all of us, every single one of his victims. Dickhead didn't just take me, he took eight of us, and at the beginning the only faces I knew were mine and Derek Morris'. So I decided to leave it blank." 

For days after the murder of Derek Morris, the news had flashed the dead man 's face all over the papers and television. Orli's picture had been included in more than a few broadcasts and write-ups. For almost two months Orli hadn't wanted to watch any television, but he'd had to after Derek had been killed, he'd needed to see the other man's face. 

"But you know the other guys' faces now, right? You've met them in your therapy group," Dom said as he ran his finger over the clay. Lij smacked his fingers away. 

"Don't touch it," Lij told him. 

"What are they like, the other guys I mean?" Sean asked Orli. 

Orli moved to stand next to them again. "It was sort of weird, I was really afraid to meet them face to face, but once I did, once I heard them talking about what had happened to them I realized they were just like us, just normal everyday guys. Most are students, one guy is a published writer from San Francisco, another a salesman, he has a wife and a daughter, just like you Sean. His daughter is only a year or two older than Ally. Just normal guys, trying to figure out what the hell we'd all done to have this happen to us." 

"You didn't do anything," Dom told him sternly. 

"Dickhead is responsible for everything that has happened," Sean added. 

They'd taken to calling the Delivery Man Dickhead after the murder. No one had known what else to call him. They knew that Orli was uncomfortable hearing the name the papers had given the man. 

"Yeah, all of us in group know that now, but it was hard, know what I mean? Mark made us understand that we weren't responsible for Dickhead's sickness. Took awhile, but we finally managed to understand." 

"You really like this doctor, this Mark, don't you? I've heard you and Viggo talking about him quite often," Lij said. 

Orli smiled, "Yeah, I like him a lot. So will you when you meet him this weekend. We're cooking outside and all of you are invited. Billy will be back by then, right?" 

Billy was working in Mexico, where he'd gotten a new movie role and was close enough to return to LA on the weekends when he wasn't shooting. Atti was staying for another month, since he'd gotten a work permit and was doing a new improv set at a local comedy club. Ian had returned to New York, where he had a new play coming out in a few weeks. But everyone else would be here this weekend. Orli had something special planned, and he wanted all his friends to be here. 

"So when are you firing this thing?" Dom asked him. He moved his hand to touch it again but once more Lij pushed his hand away. 

"Christ, Dom, what is it with you and this thing? Why would you even want to touch it?" Lij asked him. 

Dom shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, it's almost as if I'll feel something if I touch it." 

Orli tilted his head and looked at Dommie. "What do you mean Dom, what do you think you'll feel?" 

Dom shook his head, "I'm not sure. Pain maybe, or anger. I mean something this evil has to make you feel something. It's like when Frodo would put the ring on, and it would take him someplace else. Someplace dark and evil." 

"Jeez, Dom, you think too much," Sean told him. 

"No," Orli smiled at Dom. "No, he's right. I've always felt the same exact way." 

Lij moved towards the door. "Shit, I need alcohol after this, it's getting too spooky for me in here." 

Dom turned to follow him. "Come on Lij, we all know that you have that ring hidden in your bedroom closet, you've said more than once that you don't even want to take it out and look at it. It's like that." 

"Orli?" Sean said when the two of them were alone. 

Orli looked up as he moved around the room putting his tools away. He threw the dirty sheet over the piece of clay. "Yeah?" 

"I'm glad you're okay," Sean said. "I mean for awhile there we were all worried about you, we didn't understand what was going on either. But now…we 're all glad you're okay." 

Orli moved to the other man, pulling him close, wrapping his arms around him, leaning back as he lifted Sean's feet off the floor. 

"So am I Seanie, so am I," Orli whispered in his ear. "I wouldn't have made it if I hadn't had such a great family. I love you guys, you know that, don' t you?" 

Sean didn't say anything as Orli returned him to the ground, but Orli could see the tears in the other man's eyes. 

"You know you're the one who made me realize that don't you?" Orli said. 

"What do you mean?" 

"That night, the night of the big dinner, you said that your family needed you here more, remember?" Orli knew his own eyes were wet. "Since the movie we're always going on about how we had become a family in New Zealand, but until that night, until you said it and I looked around at all the faces around me, I never really understood how true it was. Now I do." 

"Well believe it," Sean said as they moved towards the door. He smiled and added, "And remember, insanity runs in my family." 

They moved into the other room and out onto the deck. Christine and Liv sat at the large picnic table, and Ally sat between them, coloring book and crayons spread out all over the place. Sean took a seat next to Chris. 

Lij, Dom and Henry were on the beach tossing a Frisbee back and forth. Atti, Viggo and Beanie stood over a large tub filled with ice, beer, soda and juices. 

Orli moved to stand behind Viggo, wrapping his arms around him from behind as he kissed him wetly on the neck, making a loud smacking noise. 

"Get a room," Atti told them. 

"Jealous?" Orli asked him. 

"Of you, never. I already know what a lousy kisser you are," Atti joked. 

"That was before I taught him how to kiss." Viggo smirked at the other man. 

"Forget it, Atti, remember I lived with Viggo in New Zealand, they were like rabbits going at it night and day," Beanie said as he opened another beer. "If practice makes perfect they're world champions by now." 

"Yeah, he used to sit outside the door and listen, didn't you, Sean?" Orli remarked. "How many times did he yell through the walls 'Viggo'? Hundreds?" 

Sean made a snorting sound, "Hell, I was just trying to get some bloody sleep. I'd forgotten about it until I got here and moved into their guestroom. They're still going at it at all hours of the day. I look forward to going home so I can sleep again." 

Atti leered at Sean. "Ahhh, poor baby. You can always come sleep with me. I' m all alone in that big double bed, it will fit both of us." 

"Yeah and get molested in your sleep," Orli warned him with a laugh. 

Orli kissed Viggo's neck again and with a quick 'I love you' he moved away. He skipped around the table, removed his shirt, and threw it onto one of the empty chairs. Turning, he picked Ally up, whispered in her ear, and she giggled out loud. He turned and ran down the wooden steps that lead out to the sand. 

"Where are you taking my daughter, young man?" Chris asked from her seat at the table as she collected the crayons. 

"To the surf, we're gonna splash in the water, right, Ally?" Orli yelled over his shoulder. 

"Bye, momma," Ally giggled from her perch on top of Orli's shoulders. 

*******

Viggo stood and watched the Frisbee going back and forth until his attention was drawn to Orli and Ally playing in the surf. Orlando looked so free dancing around with the little girl. He smiled as he watched, as one would chase the other. As soon as one of them got close enough, they would kick at the water trying to get the other one wet. 

"He's happy." 

Viggo turned and smiled at Liv as she moved to stand next to him. Snaking her arm into the crook of his elbow she smiled back at him. "He looks good, doesn't he?" 

Viggo smiled, "He always looks good." 

"Yeah, he does." Liv smirked. "God, I hate him." 

*******

Henry tossed the Frisbee to Lij and moved off down the beach a ways. He ran straight towards the two people at the edge of the water and with a giant leap he jumped on Orli's back and pulled him down to the wet sand. 

"Oh God, Henry, now you made me get my bum all wet," Orli told the boy, sitting up as he shook the water off himself. 

"Bum, bum, bum, bum," Ally repeated to no one. 

"Great, now you got the kid saying it. Her mom's gonna kill you," Henry said as he splashed water into Orli's face.   
Orli splashed back. "Ally, stop that. Here, look at the seashell Orli found for you." 

Handing her the seashell, he scooped water in his hand and tossed it into Henry's smiling mug. 

"You know what they say, revenge is sweet." Orli smiled as he said it. "And you have to sleep sometime." 

"So, when are you and dad having a kid?" Henry said nonchalantly, more water going Orli's way. 

Orli wasn't sure he heard him right. He wiped the water from his face. "What did you say?" 

"When are you and dad going to give me a baby brother or sister?" Henry said. 

"Ah…well…" Orli was at a loss for words. He didn't know what to say. 

"I mean come on, men do adopt nowadays, or you could have some girl have a baby for you. It happens all the time. Look at those two guys down in Florida, they have foster kids, they're going to court to fight for them and everything. You and dad could do that couldn't you?" 

Orli sat and stared at Ally as she dug her toes into the sand. She was mesmerized by the fact that the water would pull the sand out from under her feet. Orli wanted to make sure the little girl didn't lose her balance and fall into the water. 

"Thought a lot about this, have you?" Orli was astonished by the boy's words. Apparently fifteen-year-olds were more up on world news than Orli had been at that age. 

"Mom is hooked on Rosie O'Donnell. Don't you want kids?" Henry asked him. 

"Maybe you should talk to your dad about this subject," Orli stated. The question was burning through his mind. Did he want children? He'd never really taken the time to think about it before. 

Henry continued, "You love him, he loves you. Isn't that what people do, they fall in love, get married and have kids?" 

"How do you know we love each other?" Orli asked Henry. He knew that Viggo had told Henry about him and Vig a long time ago, but he'd never actually discussed the fact that he and Vig were lovers with the boy. 

"Heck, Orli, I've known for years. And I asked him, in New Zealand, right after I first met you. He told me he loved you. And I'm not blind. I can tell you love him. And my mom said it too. She said she remembers when she used to look at dad the exact same way you do." Henry scooped up more water and threw it at Orli again. "And anyway, when you disappeared I talked to dad on the phone, and he was messed up pretty bad, but now he's better. Mom says it's 'cause you're okay." 

"Does that bother you, me and him being in love…because we're both men?" Orli said, scooping up a bit of sand with his water this time. It made a spat as it struck Henry in the chest. 

Henry shook his head. "Nope, you make him happy. So when you do have a baby, I'd just like to say right now that girls are okay, I mean I wouldn't mind having a baby sister like Ally, she's cool." 

Hearing her name mentioned, Ally turned and ran towards Orli. Turning at the last second she threw herself between his legs and squirmed around till she got comfortable. 

"Hear that, Allykins? Henry thinks you're cool," Orli said as he picked her up and held the little girl in the air.   
"Orry's cool," the little girl said with authority. 

Settling the child in his lap again, Orli smiled at Henry, "I think Henry's cool, too." Leaning over he laid a kiss on top of the boy's head. 

*******

Viggo was having a really nice dream, he and Orli were on the beach again, the sun was shining and neither of them had a stitch of clothing on. The warm water lapped at their feet as they walked along the wet sand. They suddenly came upon a piece of driftwood lying in the surf with a telephone sitting on it, which began to ring. They stood and watched it ring. 

"Vig…Viggo." Someone was pushing against him. 

"Vig, wake up, the phone is ringing. You have to answer the phone." Orli's voice penetrated his dreams. 

Sitting up he automatically reached across Orli and picked up the ringing phone. 

"Hello?" 

Detective Matthew's clear voice answered, "Viggo, this is Cyn Matthews. I'm sorry for calling so late, sorry to wake you, but I wanted to let you know before you hear it on the news tomorrow morning." 

The first thought that entered Viggo's head was that he'd killed someone again. Sitting up straighter he wiped the sleep from his eyes. Looking at the clock he saw it was just a few minutes after midnight. 

"Who is it?" Orli questioned him. 

"What? What's happened?" Viggo asked her. 

"We got him, Viggo." He could hear her take a deep breath. "We got him about four hours ago. They're getting ready to release it to the press in about twenty minutes." 

"What happened?" Viggo didn't have to ask whom she was talking about, he already knew. 

"He tried to pick up a guy over on Belstand Street. A bunch of men had just finished up a game of basketball. One kid headed to his car a few seconds before the others, our guy tried to grab him. When his friends saw what was happening they pulled their friend away from the guy. They probably saved his life." Her words were coming fast now, "One of the men managed to break the key in the ignition, so our guy locked himself inside the van. Someone called the cops, an officer tried to approach the vehicle and The Delivery Man started shooting. The officer was shot. He's in surgery now, but they're pretty sure he's going to make it. Officers returned fire and one of them hit the suspect. He was caught in the neck, and bled to death before the ambulance even got there." 

"He's really dead? It's finally over?" Viggo couldn't believe it. Dickhead couldn't hurt anyone else ever again. 

"Yes, I promise you he's really dead. We ran a check on the van. His name was Edward Nicks. He was a mechanic at Dalton Cars. It's on Plymouth. Did Orlando buy his car there?" 

"Yes." Viggo couldn't believe it. He'd been with Orli when he'd purchased that car. They never suspected the car dealer at all, never even thought about it. 

"We're checking the rest of the victims, so far three of them, Orlando makes four, had purchased cars in the last six months, all from Dalton's. We also checked his house, where we found a sub-basement. There was a room set up, just like all the victims described it, steel plate on the floor, chains. We also found video recorders and digital cameras all over the place. He had videos of each of the victims, and there are boxes and boxes of pictures." 

"What's going on Viggo? Who's dead?" Orli couldn't sit still any longer, so he got up from the bed and paced around the foot of it. "Who is it?" 

Viggo looked up into Orli's face. "Thanks for calling, Cyn. I'll let Orli know." 

"It's over, Viggo. It's finally over." Cyn said goodbye and hung up. 

Orli threw himself onto the foot of the bed. "What's going on, Vig?" 

Viggo slid down and pulled Orli closer to him, grasping his hands as he looked into Orli's eyes. "It's over, Orli. They got him." 

Orli stiffened up. "They got…" 

"Yes, he's dead, he can never hurt anyone else ever again." 

"Dickhead is dead?" Orli questioned. 

Viggo nodded. "His name was Edward Nicks. He worked at the lot where you bought your car. That's how he picked his victims. Cyn's pretty sure that all of you guys bought your cars there." 

"The guy who sold me the car? No, that guy was fat, Vig, Dickhead wasn't fat, he…" 

"No, he wasn't the dealer, he was the mechanic. We never saw any of the mechanics. It's not someone you had met." 

"So I still don't have a face." Orli leaned against Viggo. "I have to see his face, Vig, can we go down and see Cyn? I need to see his face." 

"There will probably be reporters there, don't you want to wait a few days?" Viggo asked him. 

"No, now," Orli said. "It has to be now." 

"Why don't we wait until morning, at least? That way…" 

"No, Vig, I have to go now, tonight." Orli stood and moved to the dresser. Pulling out clothes, he threw on whatever his hands could grab. 

"Okay," Viggo said. Standing, he moved to collect his clothing. 

As Viggo came down the steps he spied Sean coming down the hall. 

"What's going on, Viggo?" Sean asked as he wiped the sleep from his eyes. "I heard the phone, is something wrong?" 

"Detective Matthews just called," Viggo told him as he reached for his sneakers. "They got him." 

"The rapist, they actually caught him?" Sean's voice was laced with disbelief. 

"He's dead," Orli said as he came to stand at the bottom of the stairs. 

Sean looked back and forth between the two men. "Where are you two going?" 

"To the police station, Orli needs to see his face." Viggo told his friend. Viggo didn't understand why Orli needed to do this, but he could see how agitated his lover was, and if it helped Orli in any way, Vig would see that he got to see this man's face. 

Sean nodded, "Okay, let me get dressed, I want to go with you." 

"Hurry up," Orli said, moving to stand at the door, waiting for the other two men. 

*******

Viggo rolled over, reached out, met empty space. Opening his eyes he looked around the room. Sunlight streamed through a blind that was pulled up halfway in one of the three windows in the alcove. The clock read ten fifteen. 

They'd spent two hours at the police station last night, and by the time they'd arrived back home it was almost three thirty in the morning. Orli hadn't been ready to go back to sleep so Sean and Viggo had just sat and watched him as he paced around the living room. And he talked. Sean and Viggo understood that he wasn't looking for conversation, he just wanted to let it out, all the emotions, all the feelings that were running around inside his head. He talked about the rape, things that he'd kept to himself about those three nights. About crying alone in the darkness, about waiting for the door to open, knowing that there was nothing he could do to stop it. He talked about finally fighting back, not being able to take it anymore. He talked until almost six in the morning. And when he was done talking, when his throat was dry and painful, when he couldn't even hear his own voice any longer, then Viggo had gently taken Orli's hand and led him to bed, pulled him close, held him as he cried himself to sleep. 

Movement drew Viggo's eye to the chair in the window alcove. He left the bed and went towards the alcove. Moving slowly, he joined Orli in their favorite chair, where they sat and silently watched the waves on the beach and the seagulls flying back and forth. Neither said anything for a long time. Orli finally broke the silence. 

"Thank you for taking me down there last night. I know you really didn't want to go." His voice was raspy, barely there. 

Viggo slid his fingers along Orli's arm, clasped their fingers together, brought them to his lips, and kissed Orli's fingertips. 

"I know you had to do it," Viggo whispered to him. 

"He was nothing like I pictured." Orli shook his head. "I thought he would be meaner looking. Older. But he looked so normal." 

"The monsters usually do," Viggo said. "They look like you and me, just your average human being. Although there was nothing human about him." 

"I know," Orli croaked. "He just wasn't what I was expecting. Christ, Vig, he was only twenty-eight years old. He was only a few years older than I am." 

"There's something else we never noticed, that Cyn brought up last night." Viggo pulled him closer. "Think about all the guys in your group." 

"What about them?" Orli questioned, snuggling closer, practically ending up on Viggo's lap. 

"All of you look alike. Same height, brown curly hair, brown eyes, and all of you are built the same, tall and slender." 

Orli took a few moments and thought about it. "You're right, we do sort of all look the same." 

Viggo nodded, "I talked to Cyn about it last night. She said each one of you represented the same man. Whoever he was punishing, he was doing it over and over again." 

"I never really thought about it like that. I'd always thought that it was something we did. But you're right. Wonder who he is? The man who's responsible for all this." 

"Edward Nicks is responsible. Hell, the poor bastard he was raping over and over again probably doesn't even realize that he was the fuel for this guy's sickness." 

"I was sorry to hear about that cop, but I'm glad he's going to live," Orli said. 

"I met him. Well, we all did. He was the officer that responded the first day, Mike Mitchell. He pissed me off because he kept telling us we had to wait a day before they'd look for you," Viggo told him. 

"I can't believe it's finally over," Orli murmured. He turned his head and pressed his lips against Viggo's neck. Opening his mouth he sucked a patch of skin until Viggo closed his eyes and rolled his head to the side. 

"Believe it," Viggo whispered back. 

They stayed like that for a few minutes, just enjoying being with each other, and enjoying each other's bodies. Viggo missed Orli's question the first time he spoke, and had to ask him to repeat it. 

"Have you ever thought about having a baby?"


	14. Chapter 14

"So you actually refer to yourselves as hobbits? Am I getting that right? Even though you're finished filming all three movies?" Mark Bakker questioned the four young men standing in front of him. 

"Yes, we're hobbits. And Orli is an elf, and Viggo and Sean Bean are humans, oh, and John Rhys-Davies is a dwarf," Billy explained to him. "And Ian is just a wizard." 

"I am not JUST a wizard, you pervy little hobbit, I'm Gandalf the White. I have a bigger stick now," Ian said with a grin from his seat a few feet away. Orlando had been totally surprised when he answered the door earlier and found Ian and Nick on the other side of it. Ian had told him that he wouldn't be able to make this weekend's party, but at the last minute he'd gotten the time off. They had to be on a plane early tomorrow afternoon, but it was great having them here for just the one day. 

Everyone was spread out over Viggo and Orli's small backyard. Beanie and Viggo were setting up a hammock in the corner, under the tree for shade. Liv was reading the directions to them, or at least trying to. Nick and Chris stood next to Liv, watching the other two struggle with the project. Chris was also trying to keep one eye on Ally, since the child was running in and out of everyone's feet. Orli could be found at the grill one minute, checking the chicken, the next he'd be running into the house to get something they had forgotten. 

"And Liv, she's a…" Mark waited for someone to supply the answer. 

"I'm a beautiful Elf Princess," Liv yelled from across the small space. "They all adore me." 

"She's right, she's our Princess," Elijah told him with a smile. "But she's not a member of the Fellowship." 

"It's a stupid Fellowship. It's sexist; J.R.R. Tolkien was a sexist pig, that's what he was. In his perfect world men controlled everything," Liv said as she tried to make sense of the paper in front of her. She finally gave up and handed the directions to Nick, and moved to stand next to Mark. 

Nick stared after her. "Oh you're not a sexist are you? Why did you hand me the directions? Do you figure it's a man's job?" 

She turned and stuck her tongue out at him. 

Mark laughed out loud, "I need a vacation home in Colorado. Just give me a few hours a week with all of you on my couch and I could pay for it in less than a year." 

"Are you going to ask them how they feel about their mothers?" Orli yelled from the grill. 

Dom smirked, "All of us on the couch together, hell, that could lead to mental illness on your part." 

"But he doesn't let you sit on his couch." Viggo looked up from trying to jam two of the metal pipes together. "He makes you sit on the uncomfortable chairs." 

"If you think these guys are a goldmine, just wait till you meet Atti, he's got psychosis up the butt. I betcha he has problems you've never encountered before," Liv said with a laugh. 

Dom nodded his agreement. "He could be a field study all by himself." 

As if on cue, Atti Schneider walked through the open glass doors. "My psychosis is my own business. It took years to develop it just the way I want it." 

"And gallons of alcohol to get it just right," Billy added. 

Atti walked straight to Orli, grabbed his face, and loudly kissed him on the lips. "Why do I hang with you people? It's bad for my reputation." 

Orlando smiled, "You don't want a good reputation. Isn't that what you've always told me?" 

Atti turned and looked at Mark, and shoving his hand towards him he smiled. "And you must be Mark Bakker, magic man. I've heard many a fine thing about you." 

"Don't believe a word of it," Mark told him. "I'm a bad therapist. I only do this so I can meet movie stars." 

"Yeah, me too, it's the only reason why I'm friends with OB." Atti turned back towards Orli. "Why the fuck was I told to bring a hammer? I'm not helping you remodel this shack of yours. I am not free labor." 

"We were wondering the same thing," Billy said, "I mean, I had to go and buy myself one, as I usually don't pack tools when I plan a trip abroad." 

Orlando smiled and closed the lid of the grill. "Just wait and see." 

He turned and entered the house. As he made his way into the kitchen he noticed Mark was behind him, and turning he smiled, "I'm fine Mark." 

"Reading minds now?" Mark said with a smile. "I talked to Cyn last night, she said you showed up the police station the other night. Said you demanded to see Edward Nick's body. Not a brilliant move on your part, my man." 

Orli moved around the kitchen grabbing items he needed to take back to the deck. "Yeah, she wouldn't let me. Showed me a few pictures of him instead." 

"Smart woman. It would have been a lousy idea. It's not something you would have been prepared to handle, not like that," Mark said as Orli shoved a bowl of salad in his hands. 

Orli stopped moving. Leaning back against the kitchen counter, he faced Mark. "I just had to see his face. I don't know why, I just knew that I had to go down there and see him." 

Mark nodded, "I understand that, and the pictures were a good idea. But to actually look at his dead body, that wasn't something you would have just walked away from. That's the kind of thing that haunts you for the rest of your life. Seeing his body would have opened up a whole new can of worms, as they say." 

Orli turned back to the open refrigerator door, removed a few more items, and placed them on the counter. "How are the other guys doing? I haven't spoken to any of them yet. How are they handling him being dead?" 

"About the same way you did, they wanted to see him. But they called me first. They're not as independent and bull-headed as you are." 

"Bull-headed? Not me. I'm the level headed one of the group," Orli said as he closed the refrigerator. 

Mark stood as Orlando piled different size bowls and utensils in his arms. "So, what are the hammers for? I was a bit surprised by that request." 

"Okay, we get to the real reason you followed me in here, all that psycho-analysis shit was to throw me off, wasn't it?" Orli said as he moved towards the doorway, Mark trailing behind, both of their hands loaded down with food. "You'll just have to wait and see, just like everyone else." 

*******

Dinner was finally cleared away, and everyone stood around the large round table that Viggo and Orlando carried outside; everyone that is but Chris, who was standing about ten feet away at the edge of the sand. Orli had warned her to keep Ally far enough away from what he had planned. 

"Okay, everyone have their hammers?" Orli asked. As hammers were held aloft he turned and headed back inside. 

Everyone just stood around the table, and stared at one another. They had no clue as to what Orli had planned. 

He came back through the door carrying the paint-splattered sheet. Laying it on the table, he unwrapped it and set the piece in the middle of the table, then stepped back. 

Beanie raised his eyebrows and looked at him, "It's Dickhead. You've finished it?" 

"Yes, it's finished," Orli said. He'd decided to fire it in a dark black hue. It made the piece look more gruesome, at least he thought it did. Adding Edward Nick's face to it had been harder than he'd realized it would be, but he'd done it. "I call it Innocence Stolen." 

Mark stepped closer to the table. "My God, Orlando…I don't know what to say. I wish I could say it's beautiful, but…" 

"But it's not." Viggo stood to the left of Orli, his eyes glued to the table. He didn't want to look at it, but he couldn't seem to take his eyes off of it. He didn't know if wanted to cry, scream or break it into a million pieces. Hell, maybe all three at the same time. Without realizing what he was doing he raised the hammer in his hand. He didn't want to know that this is what Orli had had to go through, what he had to endure because of that bastard. Clenching his jaw he knew his eyes were misting over with tears. 

"Vig." Orli rubbed his hand up and down Viggo's back. "Don't. It's over, and I'm fine." 

"I have a feeling that I now know what we are going to be doing with these hammers," Ian told the group as he hefted his hammer in his hand. 

"Yes," Orli smiled at them all. "We are all going to take a shot at it. One by one we're going to break the damn thing into pieces, turn it into dust." 

"Closure." Mark smiled at Orlando. 

Orli tilted his head and smiled back. "Yes, and I think we all need a bit of closure, don't you?" 

"Who goes first?" Billy questioned. 

"I think we should go by age, the youngest first, up to the oldest, no offense, Ian." Elijah said. 

"No." Orli shook his head. "Viggo goes first." 

Viggo turned and looked at him. "You should go first. After all, this is…" 

Orlando shook his head again. "No. I made it. You get to smash it. Now go ahead. You know you want to." 

"You're damn right I do." Viggo turned and looked at Christine. Smiling at him, she took Ally and started walking towards the sand. Viggo didn't want the child to see this. 

She turned back and yelled at her husband. "Sean, give it a good whack for Ally and me." 

Her husband nodded at her and watched her walk off. Turning back towards the others he nodded at Viggo. "Go for it." 

Viggo raised his hammer, and brought it down as hard as he could, directly on top of the hideous thing. Shards of ceramic skidded across the wooden table. 

As Viggo stood taking deep breaths, Orli leaned in and whispered into his ear, "Felt good, didn't it?" 

Viggo let the hammer drop, a dead weight in his hand. Leaning his forehead against Orli's, he sighed. "Damn good." 

Beanie went next, pieces flying into the air as his hammer crashed into the piece. He left a large indent in the wood beneath it. Turning towards Viggo he nodded at him, "You're right, it did feel good." 

"This one's for Derek Morris." Elijah swung as hard as he could. 

Sean took a swipe across his tear-filled eyes, and let loose with his hammer, "I hated you, you motherfucker." 

Dom bent over and retrieved a large piece that had fallen on the ground. He threw it down next to the broken pile that rested across the tabletop. "And you hurt my friend, you bastard." 

"For all those young men you traumatized," Ian said as he raised his weapon. 

When they'd each taken a turn, they decided to take another one until nothing was left. If any more pieces ended up on the ground they just returned them to the table and smashed some more until they were dust. When it was over, they all just gravitated towards each other and clasped their arms together in one large group hug. 

"Can we drink of the alcohol now? All that smashing has made me thirsty," Atti asked. "And this hugging crap is starting to really bug me, I enjoy a free grope now and again, but can't you people keep your hands off one another?" 

*******

The sun had gone down and everyone was just sitting and relaxing. Someone had moved the speakers to the stereo out onto the deck, one of the perks of not having any close neighbors. Ally was asleep in the guest bedroom; Chris had to keep reassuring Beanie that his bed would be left unsoiled. 

"What the hell is that noise coming from those speakers?" Ian asked. 

"It's Lij's," Billy told him. "Some obscure American band." 

"Change it Lij," Viggo said from the hammock. Orli laughed from his space next to him. 

Elijah stood and headed towards the house, grumbling the entire way. 

"I better help him or else he'll just play something just as atrocious," Dom said as he followed him. Billy got up and trailed after them. 

Viggo watched as Orli yawned. He could hear the quiet voices as conversations drifted around them. 

"Tired?" Viggo asked him. 

"No, not really. Have I mentioned how much I like this swing?" Orli quietly asked him. 

"It's a hammock. And yes, you have, a few times." Viggo laughed. Once Orli had lain down on the large hammock he hadn't once left it. Viggo figured they'd end up sleeping out here; he'd probably have to bring a blanket and a few pillows out later. 

"I wish Henry could have been here today," Orli said. "But I didn't want him to see us destroying that thing." 

"He would have understood, but you're right. No matter what he thinks, he's still too young," Viggo said as he snuggled closer to the warmth seeping from Orli's body. 

Something soothing and classical drifted out of the speakers. 

"I think Billy picked this one, neither Dom nor Lij would pick something this nice," Liv said. 

"Nice? This is music to sleep to," Dom said as the three young men joined them in the backyard. 

"Which is exactly what my daughter is doing," Chris told them. 

"So, Mark, now that you've met everyone, what do you think of my family?" Orli asked him. 

Mark smiled, "I like your family Orlando. But I realized before I got here that any family of yours would have to be a rather eclectic group. And I wasn't surprised." 

"Eclectic…that's a unique term to describe this bunch," Atti said as he took a seat on the ground at Liv's feet. "I like to think of us more as a mixture of American and British trailer trash." 

"Well, Andre, every family must have its black sheep. And we have you," Ian told the younger man. 

Billy turned his head to the side and thought for a moment, "Well, let's see now, we have a peer of the English realm, a rock star's daughter, a painter slash poet slash photographer slash actor, an Academy Award nominated director, a child slash adult movie star, a German stand-up comedian slash actor, a crazy, thrill seeking bungee jumping fool, two drunken script writers, and 006, not to be confused with James Bond who was 007. Yeah, that 's eclectic I'd say. What more do we need?" 

"What do we need? We need the world's best therapist, and we got him right here. You're right, Billy, what more could a person need?" Orli said. 

"I think I just felt my head grow two sizes larger." Mark laughed. "I'm not the world's best, just mediocre." 

Elijah shook his head and said, "No Mark, he's right. You did more for Orli than that other doctor did." 

"No, I did very little, Orlando would have found his way back eventually. He has the next best thing to a good therapist, he has a great group of family and friends." Mark's eyes roamed over the group. "Watching all of you with your hammers going at that sculpture, it showed me how much you all care about him. All the hurt and anger that all of you had inside of yourselves, it came out today with each blow you landed on that thing. You all love each other very much and it shows. Not many people have that in this day and age. That's the true gift of good therapy." 

"So what are you saying, we got some free therapy here today?" Dom asked him. 

Mark nodded, "Yes, that's exactly what happened here today. Just because Orli and Viggo are the only two in therapy doesn't mean you don't need it too. He's your friend and you all went through a terrible tragedy in the last few months. Just because you weren't the one actually kidnapped doesn't mean it didn't happen to you too. Family and friends are the forgotten victims. They feel pain, they feel anger, and a lot of times they don't get to let it out. Today, Orlando helped each and every one of you let that emotion out. And I think it was Sean, Sean Bean who said, 'It did feel good. ' It does feel good to let it all out. And I also think it was good for Orlando to see you let it out." 

"You're damn right it was. I doubt very much that any artist wants to see their work destroyed. But I did. I wanted you to do exactly what you did. Smash that damn thing into hell," Orli told them. 

"You're a very lucky group. In the last few years studies have determined that in such a large group as this one, it's rare for just one member of the group to be the only abuse victim," Mark said. 

"Two members," Atti said. "I was sexually abused as a child." 

"Three," Liv whispered, keeping her eyes focused on her lap. "I…I told Orli about it about a month ago. I've never actually talked about it with anyone else but my own therapist." 

Orli reached out towards Liv, she smiled and placed her hand in his. 

Atti reached up and took her other hand. "Feels good to talk sometimes. I've learned that. Keeping it inside just makes you feel like you have something to be ashamed of." 

"We love you, just remember that Liv," Ian told her. 

"I was raped by my mother's boyfriend when I was twelve, it went on for two years. And I did feel ashamed for a long time. I didn't talk to anyone for years." 

"That was turn of the century therapy. 'Don't talk about it and it will go away'," Mark said, "But something like that doesn't just go away. It festers until one day you can't control it anymore. It has a way of sneaking up on you and making things a lot worse." 

"I thought I could come home and go to sleep and never tell anyone what happened to me," Orli said. He felt Viggo's arms gently squeeze him. "I just wanted Viggo to bring me home, wrap me up in bed, and some miracle would occur and those three days would magically disappear. And when he finally got there and I realized he knew what had happened to me, I thought my entire world was somehow different. And I couldn't handle that." 

Mark sat forward in his chair, "Your world was different. You got knocked off your path in life. You just had to have someone show you the way back." 

Dropping Liv's hand Orli sat up and set his feet on the grass. The hammock and Viggo swung up into the air. "I pushed everyone away because I was afraid that somehow the rape made me somebody else, somebody that wasn't the Orlando Bloom that you all knew and loved. I was afraid that this new person wasn't worth your time or love." 

"And then Atti arrived in America and yanked you back to us," Billy said. "I was worried that night we arrived here, I was so scared that you wouldn't see us. But when you walked down those stairs I was so bloody happy to see you." 

Viggo nodded, "You just saw him as your friend, the man you knew before the rape. What you didn't see was the pain he was going through those first few weeks back home. It was almost as if he did turn into somebody else." He reached over and ran his hand down Orli's thigh. "You thought you were scared, Billy, hell, you should have seen me those first few weeks. I was terrified." 

"We all were. I was terrified you wouldn't want me anymore, any of you. And you were all terrified that I wouldn't want to be around all of you anymore. We were all running in the same circles and getting nowhere," Orli told them. He leaned back against Viggo's chest; grabbing his hand he brought it up and laid it over his heart. 

"And once Mark stopped you from running in circles, then we could stop running behind you," Sean Astin said. "We all love you, Orli." 

"Oh shit, they're all going to hug again, I can feel it happening," Atti said as he got up and moved towards the house. "If I'm going to have to endure more hugging I need more alcohol. Running around in circles, turning into somebody else, this shit is too deep for me. Bunch of hugging bastards, that's what you people are." 

"Alcohol is good, but munchies are even better," Mark said. "Where's all the snacks you promised me, Orlando?"


	15. Chapter 15

Three Years Later… 

"I can't find my socks," Orli said as he pulled blankets and pillows from the bed. "They were right here a minute ago, who took them?" 

"Did anyone see Elijah, he has my boutonnière, where the hell did he go?" Sean Astin said as he entered the room. 

Dom came into the room and just stared at the two men. "Lij is in the bathroom, putting on his own flower. Sean, go get yours and get it on. We only have about ten minutes, people. Where's Billy?" 

"He's downstairs," Elijah said as he joined the other three men, holding Sean's boutonnière in his hand. "What are we looking for?" 

Orli dropped the blankets and wrapped his fingers around the back of his head. "My socks. I can't find them." 

Elijah smirked at his nervous friend, pointed at his feet and said, "Orli, we aren't wearing any socks. Remember, no shoes. Just monkey suits and bare feet. It was your idea to have this thing on the beach, so you don't need any socks." 

"It wasn't my idea, it was Viggo's. He wanted it right here at the house." He dropped his hands and looked at his friends. "Is he here yet?" 

"Of course he's here, don't tell me you thought he wasn't going to show up? I mean come on, that would be the last thing Viggo would do. Hell, he's just as committed to this as you are, I think." Sean raised his chin as Elijah helped him with the pale blue rose and small sprig of baby's breath. 

Liv and Atti tried to enter the room at the same time, but they both bounced against the doorframe. Liv glared at Atti for a moment, then checked the flower in her lapel. Making sure it wasn't crushed, she then moved around the bed to wrap her arms around Orlando. "Viggo is on the deck. And he looks damn good." 

"You look good too, Princess. I like the monkey suit," Dom said, giving her a wink. 

Liv was wearing a tuxedo like the rest of them. They'd all picked them out together, and they had decided on no ties. As long as they weren't wearing shoes they felt it looked a lot better without the bowties, and open shirt collars were also agreed upon. Everyone looked classy, but still laid back, which is what Orli and Viggo were hoping for. 

"You two come together?" Lij asked as he pointed at Liv and Atti. He'd noticed how in the last few weeks, if you found one, you found the other. Liv had broken off her engagement to the Space Hog about a year before, and hadn't dated much in the past few months, but she had been spending a lot of time with Atti. Atti had moved to the states about six months ago, having finally given in to all of Orlando's pleadings. 

"Yes, is that a problem?" Atti said to him. 

"Well, it just seems to me that you two have become attached at the hip in the last few weeks. It's like you're Siamese twins or something." Lij finished with Sean's rose and turned to face Atti. 

All eyes in the room turned towards Liv and Atti. 

"What?" The young woman said. 

Orli raised his eyebrows, "Well, you tell us. What's what?" 

Liv turned and looked at Atti, who shrugged his shoulders. Turning back towards the others she said, "We're experimenting, that's all it is. Just trying to see how long we can go without killing each other." 

Snorts and laughter suddenly filled the room. 

"What the hell's so funny about that?" Liv demanded. 

"So how's it going, I don't see any injuries to either one of you…yet?" Sean said between laughs. 

"We'll let you know, it's still in the first stages. I've gotten over her atrocious slaughtering of the English language; hardly even get the urge to smack her anymore," Atti said smiling at Liv. 

"And I barely notice when he's eyeing the waiter's ass, sometimes I even point them out to him," she said glaring back at him. 

"Oh, this is going to be fun to watch." Dom said, high-fiving Astin as he walked by. 

"You said it. We'll have to have a camera close by at all times. We'll want to record this for posterity." Sean could barely get the words out he was laughing so hard. 

"Fuck you both," Atti said as he moved to stand next to Orli. "How you doing? Ready to get this thing done? It's almost show time." 

"No, I have to dress Sadie, I didn't want to put her dress on until it's time to go out to the beach. She would have gotten something all over it by then if I'd dressed her any earlier." Orlando moved towards the large doorway connecting their bedroom with the new addition which had been added about eighteen months before. They'd removed the three large windows and added a second room. Their beloved chair was stationed in the new room now, facing away from the doorway, right next to the crib. Orli headed towards the large playpen that sat in the corner; bending over he picked up the little girl who had been sitting and contentedly playing with a set of large red blocks. The room was bursting with sunlight from the three large windows directly in front of the chair. 

"Dada." 

"Hello, Miss Sadie, it's time dada got you ready." Orli kissed the sweet smelling cheek and then pressed it against his own for a few seconds. He never got tired of holding this precious gift he'd been given. 

*******

After spending almost a year talking about having children, Orli and Viggo had decided that yes, they both did want a child. That had been the easy part; the hard part was actually having the child. After checking out various adoption agencies, they decided to check into having someone carry a child for them. It wasn't that they didn't want to adopt, it was more the fact that Orli had wanted to go through the experience from start to finish, and most adoptions would take that choice away from him. So they started to look around. 

Shop around, actually, is what it turned out to be. Every woman they'd checked out had wanted an abhorrent amount of money, which they were willing to spend. But the thought of bringing in a stranger didn't feel right to either one of them. They'd thought to ask Chris Astin but life threw them a twist. Two days before they planned to ask her, she and Sean announced their own baby news. Fifteen-month-old Sean Christopher Astin was downstairs with his big sister right now. Before they even thought about her, Liv had told them no, she didn't think she would be willing to carry a baby for nine months and then just give it up. She didn't know if she could do it and wasn 't willing to experiment with Orli and Viggo's happiness in that way. 

Just when they were ready to give up they received a phone call from Exene. Henry had told her all about the dilemma they were going through and just like that she volunteered her own services to them. This way she said that the baby would be Henry's brother or sister for real. First they waited until the time was right, so that Viggo and Orli would both be home; their careers had taken off after Lord of The Rings and both had been in and out of the country for quite awhile. They made the decision to take some time off and plan for the baby. So Exene came to LA, went through the testing, and was impregnated with Orli's sperm. 

Choosing whose sperm to use was a major decision also. Orli wanted to use Viggo's, but Viggo felt that Orli should be the biological father of this baby. Henry was his legacy, and this baby would be Orli's. Viggo won on this issue, as he left no room for any real arguments. It also gave Exene and Orli time to bond. Orli and Exene spent almost every waking moment together, plus having Henry with them soon gave them all a strong feeling of family. Orli and Viggo were there for every experience Exene had to go through. Orli smiled at the memory of Exene waking him up in the middle of the night the first time the baby moved. Hell, Orli was the one holding her head up in the bathroom every day for three straight months. He didn't know why they called it morning sickness, it wasn't only mornings when it hit. She helped him pick out the furniture for this room, helped him arrange it. She helped design the mural of angels that Viggo painted on the walls and ceiling of the nursery. Orli went to all her doctor appointments with her, and both he and Viggo were also with her at both her ultra-sounds. Since she was over forty, her doctor had requested two ultra-sounds just to be on the safe side. 

Both he and Viggo attended birthing classes with her. All the other mothers ooh'd and ahh'd over them for weeks, and they had also been given advice from every woman in the class. Orli took notes, wanting to learn everything that he could about pregnancies and babies. He'd even sat with Exene on the couch late at a night rubbing her back in the last months of her pregnancy. Luckily it was an uneventful pregnancy, right down to the delivery, during which Viggo thought it was hilarious that Exene constantly shouted at Orli that it was all his fault that she was in this pain. Viggo had been in that position before, and he was glad it was Orli catching hell this time. He laughed at the way Orli begged her to forgive him, plus he still got a big kick out of the fact that in the delivery room Exene made Orli promise not to name the baby after Viggo's mother. Viggo was not about to name his daughter Hester. 

After six hours of labor Sarah Olivia Bloom-Mortensen made her grand entrance into the world. Six pounds, six ounces of fiery red screaming baby was placed in Orlando's arms and Viggo watched as Orli fell in love at first sight. They both stood over her, counting all her fingers and toes with tears in their eyes. 

Sadie, as Orli called her, was a wonderful baby. For the first two weeks Exene was with them, teaching them how to care for her. After all the legal papers were taken care of, Exene returned home. But, just in case, Chris Astin was just a phone call or a short car ride away if they needed her help. Sadie must have understood that her two daddies needed as much help with her as possible. After a month she was sleeping through the night, and she was never a problem with feeding; if you shoved it in her mouth she ate it. Orli said she took after Viggo in that respect, he would eat anything you fed him. He also didn't turn his back on Viggo when he was feeding her either, as they'd had endless arguments on what she could eat and what she couldn't. Orli didn't want her to have anything he deemed non-healthy. He once caught Viggo feeding her icing off of a cupcake. The proverbial fur had flown that day. Sadie had sat back and laughed at both her fathers during that argument. Her laughter had eventually taken the wind out of both of their sails, and they couldn't stay angry any longer. She was a happy, adorable thirteen-month-old now, and the apple of both her fathers' eyes, and her brother's. Henry adored Sadie, and he was so good with her that Orli and Viggo left her alone in his care more than once. 

Not to say there weren't a few tense moments. Viggo, having gone through this once before was a bit more relaxed the first time Sadie got sick. Orli immediately wanted to run off to the emergency room. But Viggo talked him out of it until they at least phoned the doctor. The next day in the doctor' s office it turned out three-month-old Sadie was just teething; a bit early the doctor said, but it happened sometimes. Viggo told the doctor that she was too much like her dada, just in a big rush to experience everything at once. With the first ear infection Viggo didn't even try to hold Orlando back. Off to the emergency room they rushed. Four hours and one prescription later they were back home, all three of them in their favorite chair in the nursery, all snuggled up and sleeping. Sadie took to that chair as quickly as both her fathers had. The first time Orli came into her bedroom and found the crib empty, he panicked. During a search of the upstairs Viggo found her curled up asleep in it. If one of them sat in the chair it only took a few moments before Sadie was stretched out across them. 

And between her fathers and the rest of her family one would think the child would have become a spoiled brat. It was very rare for any of her uncles or her aunts to come to the house without something special for their little niece. Plus there were always warm arms and enough cuddles for an army of little girls. 

It had only taken Orli a few weeks after her birth to decide he would only take jobs in the Los Angeles area. He didn't think he could stand leaving her for any serious length of time. Viggo didn't like the idea; he didn't want Orli to have to give up his career. He mentioned getting a nanny but Orli nixed that idea immediately. He thought that hiring a nanny was an awful idea; he didn't want to be a part-time parent. If Sadie cried he wanted to be the one there to soothe her tears, not someone who got paid to do it. He told Viggo it was fine. It was during this time that Ian finally talked him into doing stage work, and there were plenty of staged plays in the Los Angeles area. The few times a movie did come along that he wanted to participate in, he and Viggo arranged their schedules so Viggo could stay with Sadie. Orlando was on the phone constantly checking up on him; he still didn't trust Viggo's theory that sugar was good for her. 

*******

"Poppie?" Sadie said as Orli changed her diaper, and slid the white eyelet dress down over her brown mop of curls. She stared back at him with his own chocolate-brown eyes. 

"Poppie's outside, sweetie, he's waiting for Miss Sadie to get dressed, then you can see Poppie," Orli told her as he clipped a small butterfly clip in her hair. 

"You ready?" Atti asked from the doorway. 

Orli smiled and nodded. 

"Poppie now," Sadie told him. 

"Come on love, let's go find him," Orli said as he laid a kiss on top of her small head. He inhaled the sweet baby scent and kissed her again before leaving the room. 

*******

Viggo stood on the deck with Beanie and Ian, with Sean pinning the small blue rose to Viggo's lapel. "You're still shaking, Vig. I told you, you should have eaten something this morning." 

"I couldn't eat. Too nervous," Viggo told him. 

"So when you pass out during the ceremony and we laugh, you won't get angry at us…right?" Billy said as he came through the back doors. 

"No, I won't be angry. But Beanie will kick your ass," Viggo told him. 

Beanie shrugged at Billy. "It's my job, as the best man, you understand." 

Billy laughed, "Well, it's time. Orli's coming down the stairs as we speak." 

Ian looked out over the sand and nodded at the man standing at a small flower strewn pedestal. There were about eighty people standing out on the sand. Empty tables and chairs sat about twenty feet away. Directly following the ceremony the caterers would start setting up the food. Everything was going according to plan, Ian thought. 

"Okay, let's go over the checklist again," Elijah said as he popped his head out of the door. "We're going over Orli's, too. You got something old?" 

"A penny," Viggo said as he patted his front pocket. He started to turn around and see if he could catch a glimpse of Orli through the glass. They hadn't seen each other since yesterday afternoon when the hobbits had thrown him out of his own home. He, Ian and Beanie had stayed at Astin's house overnight. Well, there was the four hours that a bunch of his friends had taken him to a local club for an impromptu bachelor party. Which he had not requested. But there had been no sign of the hobbits or his elf at the club. He dreaded to think of what they'd gotten up to here at the house since Exene had kept Sadie with her at the hotel last night. The four hobbits, the elf princess and Atti had probably gotten Orli drunk last night. He wondered if Orli was as shaky as he was. 

Elijah reached over and spun him around, "Oh no you don't. Not after all the hard work of keeping the grooms away from each other. No sneaking any peeks." He turned and stuck his head inside and shouted, "Orli, do you have something old?" 

"My penny, it's here in my pocket." 

"Okie dokie on the penny." Elijah's head came back out the doorway. "Something new?" 

Viggo placed his fingers around his neck and tugged on a silver chain that hung there. "Agate charm. Orli got one too, the same ones we bought for all of you. We bought them on Monday, together." 

"Alrighty." Back in went his head. "Orli, you got your charm?" 

Out came his head again. "Okay, he's got his charm. How about something borrowed?" 

"Hanky from Beanie." He patted his front pocket again. 

"Orli you got something borrowed?" Elijah yelled. 

"Atti's underwear," Orli replied quite loudly. After a round of disgust from everyone, he answered again. "I'm wearing Chris's garter from her and Sean's wedding." 

"Oh, this I'd like to see," Dom said. Placing his hands on Orli's thighs, he rubbed up and down a few times. "Fuck me, he is actually wearing a garter under those pants." 

"Vig, something blue? And by the way, Sblomie is feeling up your intended," Elijah said. 

"Our roses, and tell Dom to keep his damn hands to himself. Or better yet, tell him to feel Billy up. They've been feeling each other up for what, two years now?" Viggo said, laughing. 

"Well then, what are we waiting for, let's get this show on the road," Elijah said as he moved back into the house. 

"Hold it, Elijah…you're the Ringbearer. Please tell me you have the rings?" Orli stammered. 

Elijah smiled at him, "Relax, I have the rings. I'm the Ringbearer extraordinaire, haven't lost one yet." 

"Wait." Viggo made to look in the door again, but Beanie pulled him back out. 

"You heard the hobbit, no peeking." 

"I want to see Sadie. I've already talked to Henry, he's on the beach with his mother. But I want to kiss my daughter before all this starts. Okay?" 

"Okay, let me go get her. And no peeking." Sean turned and walked through the doors. He spotted Sadie in Orli's arms and headed their way. 

"Viggo wants to give Sadie a kiss before we head down to the beach. You ready to go?" Sean asked Orli. 

"Yeah. I think." He was surprised by the girlish giggle that came out of his mouth. He handed his daughter to Beanie. 

"Nervous?" Beanie smiled as he took the child. She wrapped her tiny arms around his neck. 

"Yes," Orli told him. "I didn't think I would be, but now that it's time I am starting to get a bit nervous." 

"Don't feel bad, so is Viggo." He turned and headed back towards the doors. "Don't be surprised if he passes out during the ceremony." 

Orlando closed his eyes. "Please tell me you're joking? Please, Sean." 

"Of course I am," Sean said. "Viggo's fine." 

"Poppie!" The little girl screamed as she noticed Viggo's face through the glass. 

"I told you no peeking," Sean said as he handed the girl to her father. "Here's your Poppie." 

"How's Poppie's sweet baby girl?" Viggo whispered to her. He pulled her close and squeezed her small body gently. "I missed you poppet. We didn't have breakfast together, did we?" 

"Wa-wa," The little girl said as she squirmed against him. 

"Yep, we're going down to the water. And dada's coming too. See all the people on the beach, Henry and Nana are there." Viggo pointed down to the large group of people. He kissed her and straightened her dress down over her small knees.. "Poppie loves you, little one." 

"Poppie," Sadie told him proudly. 

"Okay, Uncle Beanie's going to take you back to dada," Viggo said as he handed her back to Beanie. 

"Okay, Miss Sadie, let's go find dada again." He turned and found Dom standing in the doorway. The younger man reached out and took the baby. 

"You guys ready? Orli's chomping at the bit in here. He's gonna start bouncing off the walls soon," Dom told them as he rubbed noses with Sadie. The little girl giggled. 

Viggo nodded, and turning, he, Sean and Ian left the deck and headed out towards the beach. 

Handing Sadie back to Orli, Dom turned around and held his arms out. "Okay, are all us bridesmaids ready?" 

"We're groomsmen, Dom, get it right," Sean told him. "And one grooms…girl…woman. Oh hell, whatever the hell we want to call her." 

"How about grooms princess?" Liv asked him. 

"We created a monster with the whole princess thing," Billy said. 

Atti looked at Orlando, "You ready, mate?" 

Orli closed his eyes and raised his head to the ceiling. He took a few deep breaths and opening his eyes he stared at all his friends and smiled. "I love you all so very much. Just wanted to get that out. Now we can start." 

"Okay then. Action!" Sean said as he walked through the doors. Elijah, Dom and Billy followed him. 

Liv gave Orli a quick kiss on the cheek and ran out after them. 

"It's not too late to run, mate. The car is sitting right out front. The keys are in it. We grab a few diapers and we're out of here," Atti said with a laugh. 

"My daughter isn't going on the run with the likes of you, thank you very much. I'm not running from this, not in a million years. He's everything I' ve always wanted, Atti. Viggo, Henry, and Sadie, I love them." Orli smiled at his friend. "Christ, I'm a bloody family man." 

"But a happy one," Atti said. "So in the long run, you haven't done so bad, OB. Now let's go get you married." 

Married. Orlando still couldn't believe they were doing this. Never in his entire life with Viggo had he imagined this day ever happening. He'd been in shock the night Viggo had proposed to him. It started out just like any other day; Orli had just gotten home from a meeting with his manager; Vig had promised to pick seven-month-old Sadie up from Chris's on his way home. But the house was empty when Orli finally got there. He found a note tacked on the front door. 'Clothes in the bedroom, be ready by six…V' Nothing to tell him what Viggo had planned. 

So by six he'd been sitting in the living room dressed in the clothes that Viggo had readied for him, a black silk shirt and black dress pants. Orlando didn't have the least idea what was going to happen, but he had learned over the years that Viggo's idea of romance was something he totally enjoyed. When it came to the romance department, Viggo was the King, so he just sat and waited. Promptly at six the doorbell rang, and thinking Vig was on the other side he got up and answered it. Opening the door he found Dominic on his doorstep, dressed as a chauffer. 

"What the hell are you supposed to be?" Orlando asked him. 

"Good evening sir, I'm here to pick up Mr. Orlando Bloom." 

"Okay…I'll play along. I'm Mr. Bloom." 

Dominic bowed, sweeping his left arm wide. "Your chariot awaits, sir." 

Smiling, Orlando walked to the large white limousine sitting in his driveway. 

Thirty minutes later they pulled up in front of a large hotel right off the Strip. He sat in the back as Dom got out and opened his door. 

"What's going on Dom? What's Viggo got planned for me?" Orli said as he exited the vehicle. 

"I'm sorry sir, you'll have to save all your questions for Mr. Mortensen," Dom answered with a serious expression. 

Orli didn't push, just smiled and walked up the three short steps and entered the hotel. He was met by Sean Astin, dressed in some type of maitre'd outfit. 

"Good evening, sir, if you would follow me, please." 

Sean led him to a set of elevators; when the doors opened he ushered Orli inside. Hitting a button Sean then crossed his arms behind him and kept his eyes forward. 

"I couldn't get anything out of Dom, how much would it cost me to get answers out of you?" Orli had said, leaning back and smirking at Sean. 

"I don't know what you mean, sir." 

"Right. Just thought I'd try. Couldn't hurt anything. Can you at least tell me where my daughter is?" 

"Sadie is with my wife, she'll be spending the night with us, sir." Sean assured him. 

The doors opened and Elijah stood there, doing the best imitation of an English butler Orli had ever seen. 

"This way sir." Elijah led him down the hall. 

Stopping at one of the doors, Elijah opened it, Orli entered, and the door promptly shut behind him. Moving further into the room he found a table set for two, the crystal sparkling in the candles that had been set throughout the room. Something sweet and romantic was playing very low, Viggo stood on the other side of the table, dressed in matching black silk. 

"Good evening, my love." Viggo said as he pulled out a chair and motioned for Orli to have a seat. 

Dinner was wonderful. All of Orlando's favorite foods were hand-fed to him, the wine served from Viggo's own lips. Orlando just sat back and enjoyed every moment of it. 

When the meal was finished Viggo stood and dropped to one knee beside Orli's chair. Orli moved to lay his hand against Viggo's face, but Viggo grabbed his hand and turning it over he laid a kiss in the palm. When Orlando felt the warm wet tongue sweep against his skin he couldn't stop the small moan from escaping his lips. 

"Orlando Bloom, I love you." 

Orli looked down at Viggo's face. "I love you, Viggo." 

"Would you marry me?" 

"What?" Orli yelled the word out without even thinking about it. 

Smiling, Viggo said it again, "Would you marry me?" 

"Oh My God. Vig. Marry you?" That's all Orli could get out. 

"I love you. I love Henry and Sadie. We're already a family. I just want us to be complete. Would you marry me?" 

Orlando slid off the chair, wrapped his arms around Viggo's body, and cried. Big, loud, wet, sobbing cries filled the room. 

It had taken another twenty minutes for Viggo to calm him down, and to finally get him to answer. For the next twenty minutes Orlando kept repeating the word yes over and over again. 

******************

 

And today it was finally going to happen. He turned and looked out through the opened glass doors and down towards the beach. His family was waiting for him. 

Atti had moved out onto the deck and waited for Orli to join him. The hobbits and Liv were walking down the short aisle that the two large groups had created between them. Atti raised his elbow and waited for Orli to take it. 

"Just wanted to say one thing before we go," Atti said without looking at him. "I love you too." 

Orlando switched Sadie to his other side and looped his arm into his best friend's, smiling at him. They headed down to the beach, Sadie sweetly babbling the entire way. 

He looked up into the faces that stood to either side of him as he walked. He noticed Peter and Fran, Phillipa next to them, Barrie Osborne, Hugo and John, Mark Bakker, all their close friends, more than a few of the parents and family members of his New Zealand family, a few actor friends, and some non-Hollywood friends that he and Viggo had made together in the last few years. He also spotted four faces in the crowd, four of Edward Nick's other victims. He was glad they'd come today. Today proved that no matter what that man had done to them, no matter what they'd gone through three years ago, he hadn't won. They had taken their lives back and they lived them to the fullest. 

"Nana!" Sadie exclaimed as she noticed Exene standing next to Henry. Orli stopped to kiss them both, started to move ahead again, but had to pause a moment as Sadie gave them kisses too. 

He finally spied his mother and Samantha. He stopped and pressed a kiss to each of their cheeks. He wiped the tears from his mother's face, and smiling he handed her granddaughter to her. 

Turning, he finally faced Viggo, smiling as he took both of his hands into his. He never noticed as Ian nodded at the gentleman standing behind the small pedestal. He only had eyes for Viggo. 

"Orlando and Viggo would like to thank everyone for coming today. They wanted to share this day with their family and friends. Having you here completes this special day in their lives." 

"Poppie!" A small determined voice rang out. 

Orli lowered his head and laughed quietly. He brought up his head and smiled at Viggo again. 

"Dada." 

The laughter quietly murmured throughout the crowd behind them. 

"Orlando and Viggo, you stand before your family and friends today to commit yourselves to one another. I believe you both have something you would like to share with us." 

Orlando opened his mouth to speak but didn't get a chance. 

"Poppie…dada!" 

The laughter became much louder. Murmured ahhh's could be heard. Orli and Viggo both turned, and with laughter in their eyes they looked at their demanding daughter. 

"You're the one who made her a daddies' girl," Orli told Viggo. "You know you'll have to go get her or else she's never going to stop." 

Viggo turned and looked at the reverend. "Excuse me, please." 

He turned and walked towards Sadie. 

"Poppie," Sadie smiled at him, clapping her small hands together. 

"Come here, poppet." He took her from Mrs. Bloom and moved back to his place between Beanie and Orlando. He switched her to his right side and smiled down at her. 

Sadie laid her head against Viggo's chest, snuggling into him, smiling a contented smile. She was right where she wanted to be. 

Orli reached out and rubbed his daughter's back, then took Viggo's left hand in both of his. He turned and looked at the reverend again. The man nodded back at him. 

Orlando faced Viggo and began, "Viggo. Our Love. It has brought us here today to become one in the eyes of our family and friends, for all days to come. Our minds are clear and our hearts strong. There is no obstacle I would not overcome to reach you. I give myself to our union. I welcome you as my partner in life. May our love forever keep us strong. 

"I place you in my heart today, before all others, and I pledge to work from this hour forward to make our commitment a sound and challenging one. 

"How can I honor you more? I can honor, respect, and remain loyal to you forever. Accordingly, on this, our wedding day, I pledge eternity of our union to you, and our family. From this moment on I offer myself and all that I will become to you. 

"You are my best friend and everlasting companion. Whatever road we travel down, I will always be by your side. From the first day I laid eyes on you, I knew you were the one, so beautiful then and even more beautiful now. In return, all I ask is that you never give up. Never in my life have I been happier than I am at this very moment. 

"Today I stand by you, proud and happy of the special love we have found. Today we celebrate all that lies ahead. I pledge to you my faithfulness and friendship in good times and bad, from this day forward. 

"I, Orlando, come to affirm my love and fidelity to Viggo and our intention to live together in a committed relationship. I will love you, comfort you, honor you, and keep you in sickness and in health; and forsaking all others, be faithful to you as long as I live." 

As he finished he knew the tears were trailing down his face, but he would not let go of Viggo's hand to still them. 

Viggo smiled at him and began, "Our love is a work of art, our greatest creation. It is an ongoing pursuit with range, diversity, scope; it is dynamic, ever-changing, and fresh. May it forever challenge, delight, and inspire us as the best works of art do. United, may we discover new facets and subtleties in this, our partnership, our unique and unending collaboration, from this day forward. 

"Your love has provided me with vision and depth beyond the reaches of my years. Now with you at my side, my goals are clear, my hopes are high, and my life is full of purpose. I am ready and able to offer all that I am to you from this day forward. With aspirations tempered by realism and love limited by nothing, I join with you from this day forward. 

"We are joining here today because we love, respect, and honor each other, and because we are committed to sharing equally in both the triumphs and trials of the days to come. I take you as my partner. I offer all that I am in return, and pledge to remember, over every day of our partnership, why we unite here today. Join me in celebrating our love. 

"I commit my life to our partnership in marriage. I promise to comfort you, to encourage you in all walks of life. I promise to express my thoughts and emotions to you, and to listen to you in times of joy and in times of sorrow. Orlando, I love you, and you are my closest friend. Will you let me share my life and all that I am with you? 

"Today I stand by you, proud and happy of the special love we have found. Today we celebrate all that lies ahead. I pledge to you faithfulness and friendship in good times and bad, from this day forward. 

"I, Viggo, come to affirm my love and fidelity to Orlando and our intention to live together in a committed relationship. I will love you, comfort you, honor you, and keep you in sickness and in health; and forsaking all others, be faithful to you as long as I live." 

Viggo never took his eyes off Orli as the reverend called for the rings. Elijah stepped forward and handed Orli and Viggo their wedding rings. 

The reverend began again, "Orlando and Viggo have also written their own rings vows. Orlando please repeat after me, 'I place this ring on your finger as a symbol of my constant faith, abiding love, and belief that I was chosen to live my life with you. From this day forward, when you need strength, I will give you mine. When you need encouragement, I will listen and understand. When you need solace and comfort and the silent speech of love, I will be there. I will support your dreams and goals, and strive to keep our lives filled with laughter and joy. Where there are troubles, I will stand with you. You have captured my mind and soul, and I commit them to our union. I bring to you the very best person that I can be. Stay with me, learn with me, live by my side.'" 

As they both repeated their vows, sniffling could be heard from various members of the crowd. 

"Today you have made the decision to commit yourselves to one another. You may now kiss your partner." 

They both stepped toward each other at the same time. As their lips pressed together, Viggo could taste the salt of Orli's tears. They pulled their lips apart and smiled at each other. 

The reverend finished the ceremony. "Now you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter to the other. Now you will feel no cold, for each of you will be warmth to the other. Now you will feel no loneliness, for each of you will be companionship to the other. Now you are two persons, but there is only one life between you. Go now to your dwelling place, to enter into the days of your life together as Life Partners." 

As Viggo and Orli continued to smile at each other, Sadie laid one hand on each of their faces and smiled with them.

The End


End file.
